


A Royal Love Story

by FivePips



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Blind Date, Canadian Remus, Cancer, Fluff, Love, M/M, Minor Character Death, Paparazzi, Prince Sirius, Romance, Royals, Royalty, long distance romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-09 23:51:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FivePips/pseuds/FivePips
Summary: Remus Lupin is average for the most part. But one night he goes on a blind date that shifts his world completely.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had royal wedding fever and watched the horrible lifetime movie and thought I could do better.
> 
> Also I think I'll be spending more time on tumblr this summer. Come say hi: emeliadoyle

Remus always thought that he had a normal life. He had what many considered to be an average upbringing. He attended an average uni, which he ended up dropping out of to attend school for hair and makeup. Now he now had a fairly average job even if he rubbed elbows with famous people. But his life was about to take a decidedly non-average turn in the most unexpected way. He was out in London working with Marlene McKinnon, who was an actress on a popular show back in the States. Marlene asked Remus to come with her to do her makeup for a short shoot in London and then a talk show one morning. This happened from time to time for him, and he always loved the chance to travel, so he rarely passed up any opportunity.

“I have a friend for you,” Marlene said with a grin.

“You have a friend for me, what do you mean?” Remus furrowed his brow as he finished the up-do he had been working on.

“A date. You should have some fun while you’re here in London. Okay, maybe not too much fun because I really want you two to date. I think you’d be good together.”

Remus sighed loudly. Marlene was always trying to set people up together. She had a reputation for being a matchmaker on set. Months ago she had wanted to set him up with someone, but he turned it down.

“Hear me out, please.”

“Fine.” He said, reaching for some hairspray.

“He’s sweet and sincere but can be a bit wild. He’s got a bit of a past, but he’s looking for someone to settle down with now. He’ll make you laugh, and he’s got great stories. I know you love stories.”

Remus quietly used the hairspray before asking, “Who’s this mysterious person?”

“I don’t want to tell you because I don’t think you’ll go on a date. I want you to give it a go first before you judge and say no.”

Remus groaned, he didn’t like where this was going. Someone with a story which was a complete mystery was scary to Remus. It would have been scary to anyone. “I don’t think so, Marlene. Thanks but no thanks.”

“Please. Come on. It will be good for you. I know this cute little place and the bill will be on me. You’ll at least have a nice night. I know that you will. A free meal and some drinks at the very least.” Marlene was practically pleading.

“How old is he? The last guy someone tried to set me up with was as old as my father. Which, whatever, but I wasn’t interested in that age difference personally.” He set the hairspray can back on the counter and leaned against the vanity.

“He’s 33, your age.” She explained.

“Okay.” Remus nodded. “That’s a positive.”

“Please Remus, he saw a picture of you and was so interested then was even more interested when I told him more about you.”

“He saw a picture of me?”

“Remember the group snap I posted on Instagram a few weeks ago of the hair and makeup crew? He saw that and thought you were bloody lovely. I mean, you are, so no shock there.”

“You’re not going to tell me who he is?”

“No, only because I think you’ll say no.”

“He’s famous then?” Remus never had any interest in dating an actor. That had to be the reason Marlene didn't want to let him know who the guy was.

Marlene made a funny face then nodded. “A bit.”

“I don’t want to date a famous person. I know that. I’ve seen plenty of relationships fall apart because of differences in schedules. Plus, all that other bullshit that goes with it. I don't think I'm interested.”

“I don’t think the schedule thing would be too much of a problem with him. He doesn't go on long shoots.” She shrugged. “Plus, this is just one date. Put him out of his smitten misery and go. You can leave after an hour. I’ll call you and fake some emergency if I have to.”

Remus rolled his eyes, “Okay, fine. I’ll go, so I don’t have to hear you go on about this again. If it’s shit and I don’t like him, you won’t bother me again will you?”

“No, I won’t. I promise.”

That was how Remus found himself in the poshest restaurant he had ever set foot in. Not only that, he was in a private room with its own bar and waiter. He was busy looking around at the fancy mix of modern and classic decor when the door opened. “I’m so sorry I’m late. Bleeding London traffic.” The man’s voice was familiar and when Remus turned around, he went wide-eyed. “Oh, Marls didn’t tell you I’m… me?”

Me being Prince Sirius, third in line to the British Throne. A Prince, who looked like some sort of Disney prince was his date. “No, she didn’t.” Remus wasn’t given any information on the etiquette of being on a date with fucking royalty. “Ah, hello. I’m Remus… I’m — I’m sorry I’m just in shock a bit.” Remus stuttered out as Sirius moved closer to him.

“I wish she told you. It’d help things move right along. Please, just think of me as a normal person because I am. Well, not really but it’s not foreign to me to be normal. I swear. I’ve tried very hard.” Sirius smiled. “I’m sure that’s difficult to do, but you work with people in Hollywood, right? It’s not as if you don’t realize those people are just normal people behind it all. I feel like I’ve been talking a lot, I should stop. I’m sorry.”

“I’m just going to kill Marlene the next time I see her. A little warning would have been nice.” But Remus knew he would have refused the date if he knew he was going to be going on a date with the Prince of Cambridge. An actor was hard enough for him to wrap his mind around dating, never mind a man with a title and duty to his country. They wouldn’t even really be able to see one another. “I’m sorry, I’m not usually this dumbfounded meeting people.”

“I get it. Your reaction is nothing compared to some others I’ve had. Also, I’ll give Marlene some shite the next time I talk to her about doing that to you.” He chuckled. “Should we sit? Have you looked at the menu yet?” Sirius asked, charging right along as if to ignore the fact that he wasn’t in the line of succession.

Remus’ mind was sorting through everything he knew or thought he knew about Prince Sirius. He was third in line to the throne, a cousin to the future King of England and godfather to another in front of him. The Potter Royal Family was shaken a bit when Queen Euphemia’s uncle abdicated the throne to marry some American divorcee. Effie then became queen when her father passed away when she was fairly young. The Queen and her husband, Prince Fleamont, had one son, Prince (Now Duke) James.

Sirius’ parents died when he was a child, so he was brought up by the Queen, practically as James’ brother. Sirius’ brother also died tragically when he was just 16. Sirius was a party boy, who rarely dated. He had also come out a few years back, which seemed like a media circus. Remus thought it was interesting because the royal family needed some spicing up. But Sirius was never, well, very serious it seemed. The man was always having to much fun. Actually, he did serve in active duty in Iraq, which was rather dangerous. But Remus always wondered how true it was.

“Please tell me about yourself. I know you know who I am and that’s not being too presumptive, I hope. You just reacted like someone who knew who I was.” Sirius smiled nervously.

“Yes, I know. Well, I’ve heard.”

“Not everything is true, but that’s a lot to unpack right now,” Sirius spoke as the bartender came over to their table and asked for their drink orders. Remus asked Sirius for a suggestion for wine because he assumed the man had been at the place before. Sirius picked one out quickly and the bartender walked away.

“So, starting with me?” Remus sighed. How was he supposed to have a casual date with this man? “Well, my sometimes employer and I guess friend set me up on a blind date. I still don’t know what to think about it.” He said honestly.

“Her not telling you is doing me some harm here. I feel like we’re off on the wrong foot. What would fix this?”

“The wine maybe?” Remus laughed and relaxed just a little bit. “I haven’t broken any type of protocol have I?”

“Bugger protocol. If you pay attention to headlines, I don’t always follow the rules. I’m especially not fond of those when I’m trying to have a nice date.” Sirius said as the waiter came over with the wine and began to fill their glasses.

“Yes, I’ve heard,” Remus said before thanking the bartender. “I am a rule follower to a point. I mean, I can get into some trouble. I was in an epic prank war in university.”

“Oh! I love a good prank. James and I got into a lot of trouble when we were younger with our pranks.” Sirius said excitedly.

“In, like, the castle?”

“Castles, country homes, really anywhere we went. One time when we were about seventeen we managed to swap out all the sugar in the kitchens with salt. There was some important dinner with important people and the desert was a disaster. Tea was disgusting too. Effie nearly murdered us.” Sirius said in a tone that made it seem like a very fond memory.

“How did you manage to do that? I imagine that the kitchens have a lot of supplies and there’s probably always people around.”

“See, James is the future king and I was number two there for a long while, so we got to get away with a lot.”

“Would you have been such good pranksters if it were not for your positions?” Remus wondered with a raised eyebrow. He was a bit surprised at how playful it came out. He felt oddly at ease with Sirius now they were just talking. The shock was wearing off it seemed.

“Ha, I hope I would have been. I’ll never know I guess. Do you like your job? Marlene always looks lovely, so you’re very good at it.”

“I’m not always the one who does her hair and makeup but thank you. I do love my job. I don’t think I’d want to do anything else.”

“It must be fun. Toronto is an interesting place for you to work, I assume. Canada isn’t exactly full of celebrities from what I understand but so many movies and shows shoot there. You must get a lot of great clients from that.”

“I do.” Remus nodded. “The show I met Marlene on is on its 7th season and it’s going for number 8 too. I’ve also worked on movie sets. There are a few people I’ve worked with like Marlene, who request me to go out to them to do their hair and makeup for different things.”

“Have you thought of moving to LA?”

“I love where I am. I’m busy and happy in Toronto.” Remus said. He had thought about it many times in the past but he always felt like he’d just get swallowed up in LA. He was good where he was and he made enough money to be comfortable and happy. He also had a steady job that he loved.

“That’s nice.” Sirius smiled. “I loathed being bored. I assume there’s more competition in LA?”

“Yeah, why be a small fish in a big lake when I can be moderately sized in a nicely sized pond?” Remus reasoned to Sirius.

“What else should I know about you?”

“I don’t know. I live a fairly normal life.” Remus shrugged. “I never thought I’d be on a date with you, that’s for sure.”

“Ha, sorry about that again.

“And again, not your fault.” Remus shook his head as their waiter entered the room. Remus listened to the man list the specials and he made a few suggestions on food. Remus chose the salmon that sounded to be made somewhat specially. He watched Sirius make his choice, finally relaxed enough to take in the man’s good looks. He had grown out his hair in recent years, and it was tied back in a tight bun as it usually was when he was doing public appearances. Remus remembered hearing how the Queen was probably angry at Sirius’ hair. But it suited Sirius’ model good looks. He also had the most amazing icy blue eyes.

“I like music, do you?” Sirius asked after the waiter walked away.

“I love music. I listen to nearly everything.”

“Even country?”

“Yes, even country, though it’s not always my favorite. I’m into indie and alt, mostly.”

“What about orchestral?”

“I’ll listen to it. I like listening to this pop goes classical playlist on Spotify.” Remus said. “What about you? What’s your favorite genre?”

“Punk. Like classic punk. But I do listen to a lot of different music too.”

“Punk?” Remus could help the sharp laugh that escaped his mouth. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I know. It’s all stick it to the man and fuck the establishment, and I’m well… I’m the bloody establishment. I think it’s the residual rebellion I went through as a teenager.” Sirius snorted a laugh. “I was particularly angry at Effie one day for something daft and blasted God Save the Queen by The Sex Pistols. Not one of my finest moments.”

The date went along nicely as they talked more about music then other interests like traveling and reading. Remus was taken aback by how comfortable their conversation was. When Marlene called, Remus sent her straight to voicemail.

Once he was able to look past the crown, Sirius was just a great bloke. In all honesty, it was the best date Remus had been on for ages. Maybe ever. He felt like he just clicked with Sirius, but he wasn’t sure how it could go much further than a nice date. The man was a prince who was close to the top of the line of succession. On top of that he lived an ocean away. What sort of future would there be for them? It just wasn’t going to work.

“Do you fancy rugby or any sport?”

“Ah, I don’t watch much but I don’t hate sports.” Remus shrugged one shoulder. He knew Sirius was an avid rugby player and watcher.

“There’s a big rugby tournament in Toronto in a few weeks, I was planning on going. This was even before I asked Marlene to get us up on a date, I swear.” Sirius held up his hands. “I have a visit to make to Canada anyway and I’ve managed to make that a pitstop along the way.”

“Oh, that’s awesome.” Remus smiled.

“Yes but I’m not just telling you this, I hope you realize.” Sirius looked somewhat nervous as he shifted in his seat. “What I’m saying is, would you like to get dinner maybe again when I’m out there? I’m sure I could manage to find somewhere we could meet.”

“You’d want to go out on another date with me?”

 

”Of course.”

Remus wanted to say no because again, how could this relationship go much further? He did enjoy his date and wouldn’t mind just getting dinner with Sirius once more. Maybe, if anything, he could have a friendly relationship with Sirius. They got along nicely and Remus wanted to hear more about what Sirius did to cause a bit of terror when he was a teenager.

“That sounds good.” He nodded, before finishing the last of his coffee.

“It seems like there’s a but.” The prince furrowed his brow.

“It’s just I can’t imagine this going much further than your visit to Toronto. You’re going to be across the Atlantic for one.”

“For another, I’m in the British Royal Family?”

“Right.”

“Yeah, that line has done a lot for me.” Sirius sighed. “What if we have a brilliant date next we see one another?”

“Then we have a brilliant date and I’m still asking the same questions.”

“Okay,” Sirius said with a smile, which surprised Remus.

“Why are you looking like that?” Remus chuckled.

“Because I think you’ll change your mind eventually.”

“I don’t think I will. We don’t have to go out when you’re in town because I don’t want you to think I’m just dragging you along for a bit.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I want to have dinner with you again. Then we’ll see what happens afterward.”

“You’re persistent, aren’t you?” Remus leaned forward a little.

“Not in a weird, stalking way. If you tell me to fuck off, I will.” Sirius held his hands up. “Can I have your number so we can set up our meet up in Toronto?”

“Yes.” Remus sighed, he was going to have a hard time telling Sirius to fuck off, even if he wanted to. He was literal Prince Charming and seemed so down to earth at the same time. If it got serious and went further, his life would change immensely and he wasn’t sure if he wanted that. Maybe after a while, he could be. Perhaps he needed to give it a chance.

“All right, I’ll let you go back to your hotel. Marls said you have an early morning thanks to her.” Sirius said, standing up from his seat.

“She’s on some morning program then I’m going home,” Remus said standing up as well.

“I have to go out the back, so this is where I’ll leave you,” Sirius said before getting to the door. “Plus, I don’t want you to be seen with me in public to save you from the paps. It’s not something a casual date should have to go through. I’m sure that I just turned you off to dating me more with that.”

“No, that was already in my mind,” Remus assured him, unsure of what to do to say goodbye. “Thank you for the nice night.”

“Thank you.” Sirius hesitated for a moment then leaned forward and up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“Yes, a few weeks.” Remus smiled.

The next morning, Remus was waiting for Marlene in the dressing room. He was still having a weird balance of almost giddiness and disappointment. “How was it? Are you going to murder me? Sirius was angry that I didn’t tell you it was him you were meeting.” Marlene came in, already dressed and her hair was done but she needed makeup.

“Yeah, thanks for making me look like an idiot,” Remus said as she took a seat.

“How was it though, outside of that?”

“It was… it’s was amazing. I haven’t met anyone like him. Even taking away the title, he’s unique and funny, and I would date him in a heartbeat but he’s a prince who lives in a different country.”

“So, you’re not going out with him again?”

“No, I am.” He said hesitantly.

Marlene threw her head back in a laugh. “He’s sweet, isn’t he?”

“Oh, just a bit.” Remus snickered. “We hit it off, and the conversation was just so easy. But I can’t see it going much further.”

“When are you seeing him for this next date?”

“He’s going to be in Toronto in a few weeks, so we’re going to get dinner then. It’ll be the last time, I’m sure.”

“I doubt that,” Marlene said with a grin as Remus went to grab his primer. He couldn’t argue with her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I think I'll be spending more time on tumblr this summer. Come say hi: emeliadoyle

Remus had a rugby match on in the background as he finished cleaning up his kitchen. It had been about three weeks since he had a date with Sirius, not that anyone would know that. He hadn’t told any of his friends or family in Toronto that he went on a date with a prince. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of something that probably wasn’t going to last too long. He had one more date with Sirius, and then he was going to have to sever the ties.

“And there’s Prince Sirius. He’s in Toronto for work with his charity for wounded veterans.” Remus looked up from his washing to see Sirius in a private box surrounded by other people that were probably equally as important. One of the guys that starred on The Burrow, the show Remus worked for. The Prince was looking casual in jeans and a short sleeve button up shirt. Remus wondered what he would be wearing to their date the following night.

Over the past few weeks that had been texting each other, and every few days they had lengthy phone calls. Sirius talked a lot about Harry, his godchild and second in line to the throne as if he were just any other kid. He also learned a lot about James and his wife, Lily. Effie and Monty as Sirius called the King and Queen seemed average. When he listened to the stories, barring some of the information, he thought of them all as just a typical family.

As much as they spoke, they didn’t touch on things like Sirius’ brother or his parents. All of them died tragically, and Sirius’ mourning was done in public each time. He was just a kid or a teenager when he had to walk behind caskets and hold his head high. He was adored by a nation, even when he made it on the front pages of tabloids for getting far to drunk and shouting at the paparazzi. When he came out, there was mostly an outpouring of support from the UK. But Remus hadn’t gotten that deep with Sirius yet. He didn’t think it was appropriate to ask just yet. Remus also thought maybe Sirius should be the one to tell him himself.

“Why are you watching rugby?” Dorcas, his best friend, came into the living room. She must have let herself into his place with her key she liked to abuse. They were practically brother and sister at this point and had lived together in the past before Remus could afford a place of his own.

“I don’t know. I just wanted to.” He shrugged.

“You don’t normally watch sports aside from the Olympics or the occasional hockey game. You’ve been so weird this last month.” She complained, coming over to him in the kitchen where he was now wiping down the wet counter. Dorcas had been trying to figure out what was going lately with him but he hadn’t been able to tell her. “What’s going on?”

“You’re concerned about me watching rugby?” Remus snickered as he tossed his towel aside. He walked over to the couch and Dorcas followed. “I’m not sure why that’s so life-changing.”

“It’s out of character. Just like you leaving to make a phone call at lunch the other week or making up excuses to not go out. Are you dating someone? Is he a rugby player? Is this his game?” She asked eagerly as they sat down.

“No, I’m not dating a rugby player.”

She was about to speak but closed her mouth and thought. “Are they at the game though? You’re dating someone. You didn’t argue that.”

“Dorcas.”

“You never dispelled that. Is he?”

Remus huffed a breath. He did want someone other than Marlene to know. She had been busy doing other things and spending her free time between shooting seasons glob trotting. He needed to talk to someone about his current problems with dating a fucking prince. Not that anyone was going to be much help, at least not anyone that he knew.

“He is! Who is he?”

“You’re not even going to believe me because it’s so ridiculous. I can’t even believe it.”

Dorcas pulled her legs up and scrunched up her face in thought. “I don’t understand. I’ll believe what you tell me. You don’t usually lie to me. Unless it’s to talk to a mystery person on the phone.”

“It’s Prince Sirius.”

Both her eyebrows went up, and her eyes went wide. “That’s impossible. Of England, right? Damn.”

“I know. But it’s not impossible. It’s very real and happening.”

“How’d that happen? How long have you been fucking royalty?”

“I haven’t been fucking him. We went on one date when I was in London because Marlene set me up with him. I guess he saw a picture of me and then Marlene went on about me and he wanted a date so she set me up with him on a blind date. It went so well and he’s so… normal… he asked to see me when he was out here. We’ve been texting each other off and on since then. So I have another date with him tomorrow.”

“Holy shit.” She raised her voice. “You were in London a month ago! How did you not tell me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I want from this and I didn’t want to make a big thing out of it because it’s such a big thing. I thought maybe we’d date twice then I’d tell you and it’d be this funny story about how I dated a prince that one time.”

“So, the way you’re talking it’s more than that?”

Remus frowned and shrugged. “I guess because I can’t stop thinking about him. I even learned everything about rugby that I could and I researched his charity and I know everything he’s a patron of. I’m so annoyed with myself. How can I date a prince?”

“Christ, Remus.” She sighed.

“You can’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t, not even Peter or Fleur. I swear.” She put a hand over her heart as she promised not to tell their other close friends.

“I just don’t know what to do.”

“Go on another date and see if you can sort out your feelings anymore.”

“What if I can’t.”

“I don’t know, we’ll get to that when we do. Maybe another date will help you sort it out more.”

Remus highly doubted that.

  
****

At eight the next night, Remus arrived at the restaurant Sirius picked. Remus left it up to Sirius to choose because he was sure there was security that the man had to take into consideration. It was one that Remus had never been to before but he was sure that it was amazing. He was led up to the roof deck, which was small but empty. Remus wondered how often Sirius cleared places out to have a good time.

“You showed up.” Sirius said, he was leaning against a railing overlooking the street below. He was wearing black trousers and a pink button-down with three buttons at the top undone.

“Of course I showed up, I wouldn’t stand you up.” Remus scoffed, joining Sirius by the railing. “Nice view of the city here.” He looked around at the Toronto skyline.

“Marlene recommended it on top of another apology for not letting you know who I was on our first date. Have you been here before?”

“No, it’s a bit posher than places I normally go to.” Remus explained to his date. “I saw you on TV yesterday. I didn’t realize you were in town for your charity. I thought it was some engagement or another.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s just starting up. I know some blokes who got hurt on duty when I was there. I wanted to do something for them instead of just being angry all the time. It’s all about getting active again and being the warriors they are. It’s still in the beginning stages, I haven’t even got a proper name yet.”

“That’s awesome.” Remus smiled. “What were you doing with it here?”

“Just letting people know about it, really. Spreading it to the rest of the Commonwealth. Since I’m not on active duty anymore, I have to find things to do with my time and this is my passion project.”

“I’ve been doing a bit of reading on it. I think it’s great.”

“Doing research about me, eh? I can’t do that with you. Your life has not been published everywhere. Though, I did stalk you on social media.”

“Do you have social media that’s not official?” Remus wondered.

“No, but Marlene let me use hers to look at your things like a normal person would.”

“That’s fair.” Remus laughed.

“You like to travel.” Sirius commented. “And you have what seems to be four close friends and you’re on good terms with your parents. You went to New Orleans to build houses after Katrina and it seems like you like volunteering.”

“Normally you don’t say all the things you learn, you work it into conversation slyly.” Remus said with a soft laugh. “But I think I appreciate the honesty.”

“I think putting everything out there is nice for once.” Sirius shrugged. “Should we sit? I’m starving, I haven’t eaten since breakfast. It was a busy day.”

“I’m surprised they don’t make your every move scheduled.”

“Ha, I know. I have a bit more freedom than that if you could actually believe and I’m able to dictate when I eat my own meals — most of the time.” Sirius said as they moved to the table closest to them. “How was your day?”

“It was fine. My friend insisted on taking me shopping. She’s the only one I’ve told outside of Marlene that I see you. She said my wardrobe was not nice enough to go on a date with you.”

“Ha, your wardrobe is just fine from what I can tell. You do look nice though, I like that color green on you.” Sirius referenced his shirt.

“Thank you. How was the match yesterday?”

“Brilliant, my team won. I also got some of the players to commit to working with my charity, which was my main goal.” Sirius said, picking up his menu.

“That’s great.” Remus looked at his own menu. “Have you seen much of the city?”

“Sadly, no, it’s mostly engagements and my hotel room like usual. But this is a fine way to see the city right now.”

“That’s a line.” Remus snorted. “You’re too much of a charmer, eh?”

“I try.” Sirius said as the waiter came over.

They ordered drinks and an appetizer before the waiter left them again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, if I didn’t want you to ask me things I wouldn’t be here.”

“I was wondering, and please don’t be offended, but were you really in active duty? I’ve seen the pictures and stuff but there are those dumb stories saying you were just there. I don’t like believing those things so I’m assuming they’re not true.”

“It’s not a bad thing to wonder. I was really in active duty for ten years from 19 to 29. I was shot at. I lost friends. I did the day to day grind like everyone. Bloody journalists ruined it for me and I had to be sent home.” Sirius said, looking more solemn than Remus had seen him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like an idiot.”

“It’s a good question. The fucking press, not all of them but too many of them are just looking for a quick story to get money. My brother died because of paparazzi. When he was 16 he was driving his own car in Paris. I was only a year older than him and I lost my baby brother because of them. I’m not generally a fan of those headline grabbers.”

Remus reached across the table and squeezed Sirius’ hand. “It must have been hard.”

“It was and I didn’t deal with it until fairly recently. I’ve had a lot of loss in my life and I always try to shove it to one side. Now I’m just sort of working things out but I think I’m in a good place.”

“A good enough place to have some dates?”

“I’m only dating one person at the moment and I’m trying to figure this out. Hopefully they are too.” He gave a little half smile.

“I’m trying.”

“Tell me the biggest thing you're worried about.”

“The press. They’ll turn my life upside down. I don’t think I want everyone to follow every single move of my life. It sounds like it’s a living hell.”

“That’s my biggest fear for you too.”

“I’m also worried about your family. It’s just all so foreign. How can we have a normal day to day life?”

“I don’t know. I have a normal day to day life, that isn’t always followed by paps or meeting with important people. I understand but I like you. I want to go on another date with you and we’re not even halfway through this one.” Sirius laughed. “We have to take it one step at a time if you’re keen. There’s way to keep it under wraps until we decide if we’re a good match or not. I’ve been working on hiding from the paps for most of my life. I’m rather good at it.”

“Right.” Remus sighed, he wanted it to go further but he still wasn’t sure. If they could keep things quiet for a little while then Remus could work things out a bit more. “I don’t know.”

“Okay, let’s enjoy the rest of our night before we go talking about what’s next. It’s stuff we don’t have to worry about yet.”

“Fine.” Remus smiled, he could do that. If he kept saying yes to another date, eventually things would get too comfortable and he would have to make a choice if he wanted his life to change drastically. But a good dinner with good company was what was on tap for tonight.

Their dinner was long and conversation flowed smoothly once again as it usually did when he was speaking with the other man. Remus learned more about Sirius’ life that wasn’t lived in the spotlight (like the time Sirius ran away from home at his parent’s place at Kensington Palace at seven to Buckingham Palace). There was plenty for him to learn. Sirius was excellent on paper for the most part but the reality of him was just so overwhelming. But he was so fun. They were talking about old games they loved to play when they were younger as they wrapped up their meal.

“I loved Mario Party.” Sirius said as they finished the last glass of wine.

“I have it at home.” Remus laughed.

“Oh! Jealous, I don’t have it. I would love to play again.”

“Ah, something I have that you don’t.” Remus smiled. “Want to come play a round or two? I’m not asking you to come over for sex. I just wanted to make that clear.” Remus thought his motives should be clear. He didn’t want to go that far with Sirius because he wasn’t sure what he wanted with Sirius. Two dates in and he was absolutely enamored but horrified. He felt like he was leading the prince on as it was.

“Really? I mean, I could, if you wanted me over.”

“Would it be like, a security issue?”

“Ha, no. But someone would do a walkthrough of the flat first.”

“Obviously. Why don’t you call your driver?”

Sirius reached for his phone and less than an hour later, Remus was setting up his N64. “If you want, you can grab a beer some the refrigerator or something.”

“Brilliant.” Sirius said, going to the kitchen as Remus fiddled with the cartridge because it wasn’t being read. “You should blow it!” Sirius spoke loudly with a laugh as he walked away.

Remus took his advice and had the game working by the time Sirius returned with two beers. “Blowing always does the trick,” Sirius sat down next to Remus who was on the floor and leaning back against the sofa.

“It normally does.” Remus scoffed before they went to deciding on what to play.

They played through a map, with Sirius beating Remus. It took them a few hours and it was nearing one in the morning now since their dinner went on for a while. Time with Sirius seemed to slip by because they just got on so well. Remus didn’t want Sirius to go but he was so tired and he could tell that Sirius was getting that way as well because he had yawned twice in the last few minutes. “So, I think it’s the end of date number two?”

“Probably, yeah.” Remus nodded, setting his controller aside. He moved so he was leaning on the sofa with one arm so he could rest his head on it and look at Sirius at the same time.

“Am I going to see you again?” Sirius moved a little closer to Remus.

“I want to. These two dates I’ve had with you have been better than any ones I’ve been on in the past. But how long can we go without it being put out to the media? How long can we go being separated by an ocean?” Remus countered the prince’s questions with his own.

“I don’t know.” Sirius shrugged.

“I think, maybe we should see what happens but don’t force it. If we cross paths again or whatever, that’d be nice. But I don’t think you should be banking on this relationship. I do like you but I’m still not sure I like you enough to change my entire life right now.”

“It’s a lot to ask and I wouldn’t ask you to do that after two dates. Whatever you think is right, Remus, it’s fine.” Sirius said with a little sigh.

“I had a great night.” Remus smiled. “I do hope to see you again sometime.”

“Me too.” Sirius leaned forward a little. “Can I have a kiss?”

Remus nodded before closing the distance between them. He pressed their lips together for a long kiss, Sirius’ hand slid down his back. Remus decided to pull away before they could go any further. “All right, my ride is here. Have a good night’s sleep.” Sirius kissed his cheek before standing up.

“Good night.” Remus said, watching Sirius walk away.

He wished so much that he could just let the idea of being with Sirius go. Sometimes he thought it’d be exciting to fall into that life but he would hate the scrutiny. Would a relationship with Sirius be that important to him? They barely knew one another but Remus could see it going much further. But he would never know if it was meant to be more if he couldn’t commit to it going public at some point. He could never casually be with Sirius, even if people thought they were just friends, people who liked gossip would like to know everything about him.

After sitting on the floor with the Mario Party theme going in the background for fifteen minutes, Remus decided it was time to go to sleep. He wasn’t going to solve anything at two in the morning that he couldn’t solve when he was fully awake.

***

Remus woke up the morning after his date with Sirius to the smell of breakfast food and the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. He knew immediately that it was Dorcas making breakfast as she did time to time. This wasn’t strange because it happened often. They liked having Sunday breakfasts because they did that in the past every week when they were roommates.

After rolling out of bed and finding something to wear other than his boxers, he went out into the living room to find Dorcas in her leggings and old St. John’s sweatshirt. “You texted me at 2 a.m. So I’m assuming your prince is not here. If he is, I’ll need to make more toast and eggs.” He had replied to a text she sent about how his date was going before he went to sleep.

“No, I sent him to his hotel room. But he did come over.”

“Did you two have sex?” She eyes with a raised eyebrow. “What the royal protocol to sucking cock?”

“Ha, no, he just came over to play Mario Party.” Remus snorted a laugh.

“Oh my god, what nerds. You’re perfect for one another then.” Dorcas laughed as she grabbed a spatula to see to the scrambled eggs she had just put on the stove top.

“We didn’t make plans to see each other again.”

Dorcas’ face fell. “When you talk about him you look so happy, I thought for sure you’d at least set up another date with him.”

“If we meet again then that’s great but I don’t see it happening.” Remus rubbed the back of his neck.

“You don’t seem convinced about that.”

“It’s true. In what reality does a prince from England fall in love with a middle-class makeup artist from Toronto?”

“It seems like this reality.” She said taking the eggs off the stove. “Let’s have some breakfast. Breakfast solves everything.”

Remus really wished that were true.


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius bit his lip and furrowed his brow as he stared at the pieces of paper in front of him. He was shite at making choices lately because his mind was on the one thing he didn’t have much control over. “It’s not complicated, Sirius. You need to choose the color you want for the charities’ logo.” James groaned as if he had been subjected to hours of torture. “There won’t be some international incident if you choose that green over that blue. You still need to pick what you want to call it for Christ’s sake.”

“I know, but I like them both,” Sirius complained, gesturing to both of the colors.

“You’re exhausting. What is going on with you?” James said with a very concerned look on his face suddenly. “You’ve been so edgy lately. Are you all right? Have you been to therapy recently?”

“I’m fine and yes I have been.” Sirius rolled his eyes at his best mate’s legitimate concern. All the shite he had been through in his youth made his late teens through late twenties not so pleasant. It wasn’t until relatively recently he was able to feel okay and be truly happy without suppressing everything.

Well, he was suppressing his feelings for Remus at the moment because the man seemed to want to keep his distance from Sirius. More so than the physical distance they had already. Remus wasn’t sure if he could manage what life would be like if they went public. Sirius was left wishing he didn’t have a predetermined destiny to be in the line of succession to the British Throne for probably the billionth time. Being with Remus was so comfortable. Sirius could spend his whole life in the man’s flat watching telly and playing games. But that wasn’t going to happen.

In the last few weeks since leaving Toronto, he’d barely spoken to Remus more than two times. There were even some text messages that he sent that were left unread on Remus’ end. He didn’t want to push it because he didn’t want to smother Remus. But he wanted to be able to have a real conversation about their feelings for one another. If Remus felt even close to how Sirius did, the man must know that their connection was something special.

“Then what’s going on?”

“Remember the date I told you about over two months ago?”

“Hmm, mhmm.” James nodded. “The bloke Marlene set you up with, yes. I thought it was a lark. He’s a makeup artist from Canada.”

“Well, I think it’s more than that. I saw him when I went out to Canada a few weeks back, and we stayed up late playing bloody video games after a wonderful dinner where we talked for hours.”

“Oh, that’s what the matter is then? You actually fancy him? He’s just some makeup artist from Canada.”

“Yes, I fancy him. He’s not just some makeup artist from Canada, he’s amazing. You’d love him.”

“He’s from a completely different life.”

“I know this, and he’s very aware of it as well.”

“Then let it be. I’m sure we can find someone who’s a better fit.”

“A better fit? By what? Their class? James, you sound ridiculous. That’s not who you are.”

“I’m sure he’s great, but it’s going to be overwhelming if you ever made it public. He’s probably thinking the same thing. Dating someone who’s used to being publicly scrutinized is probably best. I’m not saying this person should be royalty of any type, but there must be some actor or politician or activist. Someone who can handle it.”

“James, what if I’m not meant to be anyone from those types of areas? I know you’re just worried, but you need to stop thinking like a future king and be my mate for a moment.”

“Sorry,” James said as Lily came into the room with Harry. “Hello.” The man lit up as he always did when he saw his wife and/or son. Sirius wanted to be like that, and there was that potential with Remus. But at the moment, it was too far out of reach.

“James, your son, would like to play some footie, why don’t you take him out into the garden?”

“Sure.” James scooped up the four-year-old boy who let out an adorable laugh.

Sirius shuffled the papers on the desk as James and Harry went off, leaving Lily behind with him. Lily came to sit next to him with a reassuring smile. She usually had the same look on her face when she tried to get Harry to tell the truth when he was naughty. “Yes, Lils?”

“What’s going on? What were you and James talking about when I came in?”

“I went on two dates with the bloke that I rather fancy, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to go any further. He’s just a regular person from Canada. I only met him because he does makeup for the show Marlene is on, and she set it up. She didn’t even tell him who I was because she was sure he wouldn’t date me if he knew right away that I was a prince.”

“Then why would you want to date him if he’s not interested?” She furrowed her brow.

“You’re not from royalty. Your family doesn’t have any time of storied history. Sure your family is well to do but did you ever think going to Cambridge that you’d meet James, fall in love, and marry?”

“No, but I wouldn’t have rejected the idea if I hadn’t met him myself. If I had a friend who wanted to set me up with him, I would have given it a try without complaint.” Lily shrugged one shoulder.

“When the gossip rags started on you, wasn’t it a lot?”

“It was, but I love James more, enough to get over that.”

“You’re also a straight woman who’s pretty and sweet.”

“Yes, and this person is not sweet?”

“He’s bi, and he is handsome but not in an innocent woman sort of way. He comes from a family who is very out of your income bracket. He dropped out of uni to go to a trade school, which is great but you know they’ll pick at that. He’s dated men and women, and there are some pictures of him online that would draw a lot of criticism from even if there’s really nothing there. The closest he’s been to the limelight is being in a picture with Marlene.”

Lily frowned, “Does he fancy you?”

“Yes, but he’s scared to take it further. I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to be here either if I had the option. Some days I don’t even want to be here. Most days.” Sirius put his hands over his face. He just wanted to live a life out of the public eye, but that’s not what the world gave him. The least he could have was a relationship with the man he wanted without it being too big of a deal.

“I’m sorry, Sirius.” She patted his knee. “If it’s meant to be then it will happen. Why don’t you do something romantic to sweep him off his feet? Take him somewhere private, like Botswana! You could spend some romantic time alone down there and get to know one another more. The only time people know you’re there is when you alert the media for official engagements.” Lily reasoned.

“That’s actually a brilliant idea. I don’t know if I can make it happen, but I can try.” Sirius thought Remus would love it there. He seemed to like an adventure. He talked a lot about his travels and all the places that he wanted to go. “I don’t know if he’ll come along, but I like the idea.”

Sirius went to his place at Kensington to call Remus, after doing the mental math of what time it was in Toronto. He needed to consult with his social secretary, but he hoped to at least get some sort of date that worked for Remus. If the man would even be interested. He wanted to see if they crossed paths again naturally but Sirius was sure that it would never happen. He wasn’t very interested in being rejected by Remus, but he wanted to try.

“Hi, Remus.”

“Sirius? What’s up?” Remus answered the phone.

“I was just wondering if you’d fancy going on a vacation with me. It would be private, and only the staff would know. I go to this place often, so they’re very discreet.”

The line was quiet for a moment. “Vacation? I thought it was decided if we saw each other, we saw each other. This seems like you’re actively working on getting it to happen.”

“I am, but I’m only asking because I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re on my mind constantly, and I think the best way to figure things out would be to travel together. We could go for a week, and we’d be alone and be able to decide more if we want to take it further or not.” Sirius said, pacing in his sitting room. He just wanted to have a real chance with Remus. They didn’t live even a city away from each other where they could go on regular dates. They needed the time together to see if it worked.

“How would no one know, surely anywhere we’d go someone would find you and snap a picture?”

“There’s this camp in Botswana the family, and I go to every so often. In all the years we’ve been going there, there hasn’t been one paparazzi.”

“Botswana?” Remus sounded shocked. “Really?”

“It’s beautiful. I think you’d love it.”

“I don’t know, Sirius.”

“Just one last chance, please. It might help you figure things out.” Sirius felt like he was pleading.

“Ah, I need to look at my calendar.”

“Send me dates that work best for you.”

Sirius did a little victory dance. This could change a lot.

***

Four weeks later, Sirius and Remus were in Botswana. The camp was rented out by Sirius for the six days, so it was only a bare minimum of staff and no other visitors. Remus had fallen on to the sofa in the main area of their lodge that Sirius always stayed in when he was there. Remus had gone back and forth about going but finally decided he would be there. Sirius was glad that he was going to give them a try. “Oh, I’m tired.”

“Rest, we’re not doing much else.”

“Good.” Remus yawned and kicked off his shoes. “How long have you been coming here? The bloke who greeted us seemed like he’s known you forever.”

“Maxwell has been working here for as long as I can remember. I’ve been coming here since I was a young child.” Sirius said, going to the refrigerator to see what they had stocked in there for them. “Why don’t you go to the bed?”

“If I go to the bed then I’ll sleep, I won’t nap. I’ll have more of a chance of not sleeping for hours.”

“Okay.” Sirius laughed, grabbing sparkling water. “Do you want anything to drink before your nap?”

“No, I’m good.” Remus yawned once more.

Sirius left Remus to nap. He decided to go to the main building of the camp to see if Frank and Alice were in. They took care of the hospitality side of things. They had known Sirius for a long while now. “Your Royal Highness,” Alice said with a big grin and a little curtsy.

“Alice, please call me Sirius for the millionth time. We’re practically family. Frank, how are you?”

“Wonderful, yourself?”

“I’m brilliant.” Sirius’ smile was broad.

“Where is your travel companion?”

“He’s taking a nap. He had a bit more travel to do than me. But he wants to do all the interesting things. Safaris, the boat rides, game drives, helicopters, and whatever you have.”

“Elephants!” Alice exclaimed.

“Oh, elephants for sure.” Sirius nodded. “I’m trying to make a good impression, so hopefully this all will help.”

“So, we have to make it extra romantic as well?” Frank raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, as romantic as we can get.”

“Tonight is going to be a bit rainy, there’s a storm coming in, but the weather is supposed to be great tomorrow night. I would suggest a sunset dinner on the patio. Is he allergic to anything?”

“Not that I know of.”

“If you find out otherwise, let me know so I can make sure we don’t kill him.” Alice laughed as she jotted something down, probably a reminder to set a dinner up for the following evening. “Tonight, we can just deliver you some food at 7.”

“Good luck,” Frank said with a little nod. “I have some work to do. I’ll see you later, I’m sure.”

“Do you want to schedule everything now?” Alice asked.

“I think I should talk to him first.”

“Good, be considerate.”

“Any other advice?” Sirius snickered. “He’s very unsure of wanting to involve himself in a royal family. He’s an average bloke.”

“I’m sure that’d be a hard choice, but if he loves you, then it doesn’t matter.”

“Love is a strong word. We’re just working it all out.”

“It’s what you’re eventually working towards. Don’t worry about this week. We’ll put out all the stops and make it as romantic as possible. The only things I don’t have control over are the weather and the animals. But normally they all do what they’re supposed to.” Alice assured him. “Do you want something to eat?”

“No, I’ll be fine until dinner. There are snacks in the lodge if I want anything.”

“Enjoy yourself,” Alice said cheerily as Sirius went off.

Sirius walked along the raised wooden platform that connected all of the buildings of the camp. It was used in hopes to keep the predators at bay. Sirius had yet to encounter anything dangerous in the buildings or the pathway of the camp. He decided to go to the larger gathering area of the camp that looked like an old sitting room so he could find a book to read during his stay. After browsing the titles, he decided on Austen’s Persuasion because the title felt like it was what he was doing.

Instead of returning to their lodgings, he choose to sit and read for a little bit so he wouldn’t wake up Remus. About an hour and a half later, he went to their lodge to find Remus just waking up. “How long was I sleeping?” The man asked when rubbing his eyes.

“Mmm, maybe 2 hours,” Sirius said, sitting down next to Remus on the sofa.

“Good, not too long. So, is there a plan for the rest of the day?”

“I think we should relax. I’ll get the list of the things we can do in a bit, and we can decide what to do when. It’ll just be low key tonight.”

“All right. Mind if I shower then we can do that? Then maybe you can show me around afterward since we have this whole place to ourselves for the most part.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The men had a relaxing day of settling into their holiday. Once Remus showered, they made a plan of what to do with their time at the camp. Following that, Sirius took Remus on a tour of the camp and introduced him to the staff that was around. They stopped in to say hello to Alice and Frank as well, dropping off their itinerary while they were there. By the time they got back to their lodge, dinner was sitting on the table for them.

“I can see why you like it here so much. It’s beautiful,” Remus commented as they sat down in a little nook that Sirius always liked following dinner. It was small and covered, overlooking the lake in front of them. Not that they could see much because it was dark and rainy. “Private too.”

“I’m so glad you joined me.” Sirius sat back against the pillows. “I’ve never liked anyone this way. I can’t explain it.”

“You’re something else yourself. I’m glad I got over it and came.” Remus relaxed into the pillows behind them, leaning against Sirius a little. “How are you so normal?”

“I don’t know. Effie tried hard to make sure we did ordinary things that everyone does the best that she could. My mother, she wanted me to be as aristocratic as possible. I think she thought we lived in another century. Even before she and my father died, Effie had some influence on the things I did since I was so close to James. It also helped that she’s the queen, so people tend to listen to her no matter.” Sirius laughed.

“How old were you when your parents passed?” Remus asked softly.

“Just 9, Reggie was 7 — almost 8. I don’t have many memories of them, and the ones I have aren’t great. They were cruel and strict, but sometimes I wonder what they would have been like when I got older. Maybe things would have been different, or maybe I only remember the bad stuff to cope. I don’t know.” Sirius frowned but sighed as Remus slid his hand into Sirius’ and squeezed it lightly. “But I mourn them far less than I mourn Reggie. He was like my other half. We did everything together because our parents died when we were so young.” He cleared his throat.

“I’m so sorry, Sirius.” Remus brought his hand up and kissed the back of it.

“He was being an idiot, driving a fast car in a busy city, and thinking he ran the world but it all fell apart.” Sirius felt the tears coming to his eyes as they always did when he talked about his brother. “I spent too long tucking all my feelings away but I can talk about it now, I don’t have many people who I want to talk about it with too. I especially don’t talk about it with new people outside of my therapist.”

“Thanks for trusting me. I wish I had things that I could spill to you but my life has been so… average.”

“It’s not a trade-off thing. I just want you to know that I trust you.” Sirius smiled then rested his head on Remus’ shoulder. “Thanks for coming.”

“In all honesty, I was waiting for you to call every day after our last date to set something up.” Remus scoffed. “I was so mad at myself because of that. I just want you too, but it’s fucking difficult. Why do you have to be so damn charming?”

“I would say I’m sorry about that, but I’m glad you keep giving me another chance.” Sirius pressed a kiss against Remus’ neck.

“So, have you ever brought anyone else here?” Remus asked, letting go of Sirius’ hand and placing his hand on Sirius’ thigh.

“No, it’s just been a place for the family to go.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t date much. I pretended to date girls when I was younger but was shagging blokes really. I’ve tried to date men but nothing ever really worked out. You’re different, I can feel it.”

“I think you’re different too,” Remus said a bit wistfully.

Sirius moved so he could kiss him. “I think I want you to take me to bed.”

“I can do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the Sanctuary Baines' Camp if you want to know what the inspiration I used for Botswana.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I was trying to post every week but my las work project got in the way. But here's the next chapter and I have a few chapters written as well so you might have a few quick updates!

Remus woke up to the sun streaming in through the curtains around the bed. The last few days had been so magical. He was going to miss this place when he left the following day. Remus got to see animals he only saw in pictures or on TV while experiencing the land of Botswana from boat, sky, and car. The camp was also so luxurious that he wished that he could live there forever. If it were an option, he probably would have been packing his things back in Toronto already.

It also didn’t hurt how close he and Sirius grew in a few short days. But there weren’t exactly many other people to interact with. It was good though. Being secluded with Sirius helped him see who he was behind all the headlines and titles. Remus learned a lot about Sirius’ life, and he saw him for far more than what he showed to the public. He saw him for even more than what Remus had seen on the first two dates.

Sirius was a good person deep down. He was caring and attentive. He was hilarious too. On top of it all, he was insanely good looking. Sirius was complicated and broken, but he was in repair. He wasn’t looking for someone to repair him either. He was doing that all himself and was rather proud about it. Remus felt as if he had hit some sort of lottery with Sirius. The road ahead was going to difficult, but he was well on his way to deciding for sure if he wanted to commit to going public with it. Remus was interested in taking things further with Sirius. He was still nervous about what that all meant for him.

He rolled over to find Sirius reading a book. “Do you sleep?” He asked with a little laugh because he felt like Sirius was awake before him and going to sleep after him the last four nights.

“I do! I don’t need to sleep as much as you do apparently.” Sirius scoffed before tossing the book aside and moving to kiss Remus.

“I’ve always thought us commoners slept less than you guys. I guess I was wrong.” Remus laughed as Sirius kissed down his neck.

“I guess I don’t live the life of leisure you assumed,” Sirius spoke while Remus ran his fingers through the man’s long black hair.

“I don’t know, whisking your lover away for a safari is pretty leisurely,” Remus said as Sirius rested his head on his chest.

“You weren’t exactly my lover before we got here. We went on two dates, and I fancied you. I wished you were my lover. Bloody hell, I was pining for you. I don't pine.”

“Okay, but I think now we’re classified as lovers.” He ran his hand down Sirius’ back.

“Oh, yeah, I think we’ve shown that a few times now.”

Remus closed his eyes and smiled. “Do we have to go home tomorrow?” Remus asked aloud.

“I have a commitment to get to, and you have work, I believe.” Sirius chuckled as he moved to wrap his arms around Remus. “We can come back here one day if you’d like but I think we both have to get home.”

“What’s next after this?” Remus twirled a piece of Sirius’ hair between his fingers.

“What do you want to be next?”

“I want to see you again and probably a few times after that.”

“Hmm, so we’re going to have to figure this all out. I can probably get to Toronto more than you can get to London in the next few months based on our schedules since the show starts shooting again.” Sirius said. “As soon as I can come out there I will.”

“How long do you think we can keep this up without the world finding out?”

“At least a few more months, I’d say. The only thing is, are you happy to hide away all the time until its out there?”

“For now, yeah. I need a little more mental preparedness before it’s all put out there. I also feel like I need to set everything on social media to private and clean out the dumb shit. Maybe purge some acquaintances.”

“That might be a good idea.” Sirius laughed. “Not that you are dumb.”

“I know.” Remus laughed. “But when I was younger I did dumb things as all young people do.”

“At least your dumb shite wasn’t broadcasted for all to know.” Sirius snickered. “One time I attended this saints and sinners fancy dress party and went as a Nazi. So there’s that.”

“Oh god, I saw that. That was fucking stupid.” Remus shook his head. He remembered his mother going on about that for some time. That was going to be fun to bring home. He hoped she’d forget about it somehow.

“Yeah, tell me about it. I didn’t hear the end of it from Effie or Monty. I still get shite for it. She even took me to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin once just for that, and I got private lessons on the atrocities that occurred during WWII. I have to say that’s the dumbest thing I’ve done in my life.”

“Well, I have nothing like that on my Instagram, so I should be safe.” Remus reasoned. There was nothing too bad on his social media, but he didn’t want to be portrayed as some hard drinking party boy who had several girlfriends and boyfriends. “Do you think, if we make it to going public, that people will come after me more for being bi or for being middle class?”

“Honestly, the middle-class thing. People will try to make it like you’re after this life.”

“I’m not,” Remus said, he felt like he hadn’t had the chance to say that.

“I know, I believe you. You didn’t even want to date me for that very reason, to begin with.”

“I’m still having the same types of feelings. But these five days have loosened my opinion. You’re special, and I don’t want to lose it just yet.” Remus said. He had a feeling that he could love Sirius. The man was everything that he was looking for.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere until you tell me to fuck off. I haven’t heard the words yet. Well, not in that order at least directed at me.” Sirius looked up at Remus.

“At the moment, I don’t see me saying fuck off to you.”

“Thank god.”

“Even though that Nazi uniform thing is not great.” Remus scoffed.

“I learned from my utter tone deafness. Believe me.”

“I'm sure you did." Remus paused. "You know I’m Jewish, right?” He decided he couldn’t keep that to himself any longer. “I’m not exactly practicing the religion but…”

“Dear god.” Sirius put a hand over his face. “This is bad. I mean, not that you’re Jewish — shite that came out wrong. I was so out of touch then, but I swear I’m not like that any longer. I would never even have that thought cross my mind to do that. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say something to me when I just brought it up?”

Remus laughed loudly, “I don’t know. I didn’t want to scare you at the moment, but I thought maybe I should tell you. My mum might have a few things to say to you about this.”

“Now I’m more nervous for the day I meet your parents. Oh fuck, I’m screwed.”

“Yeah, you’ll be getting another nice lesson about that one. Even though it’s been years and you’ve seemed to have grown as a human and your Queen already gave you a lesson, you’ll get another one. I mean, you probably deserve it so…”

“Yeah, I do.” Sirius didn’t try to argue that.

“I think we should stop talking about you making dumb choices.”

“Brilliant idea because that could really be a long conversation. Breakfast?” Sirius sat up quickly.

“Please, I’m so hungry,” Remus said. “Then maybe we can go hang out with the elephants again?”

“Sure, let’s check with Alice about that.” Sirius dropped one more kiss on Remus’ lips before getting out of bed.

He didn’t want to leave this little bubble because he was so afraid about what he was going to find out there for them. In Botswana, they were safe and happy together. When they went back home, they were going to be separated once more. Long distance relationships weren’t something that could always be navigated easily. Then on top of that, Remus had to worry about what would happen when they did go public.

That would all be things to worry about but Remus still had a full day to enjoy the comfort of being secluded with Sirius.

***

The second day back in Toronto, The Burrow was back to shooting and everyone was excited to be back with the whole cast and crew. Except for Remus. Remus was feeling jet-lagged, lovesick, and just plain old sad. He wasn’t ready to be back in the real world, one where he wasn’t going to be seeing Sirius for some time outside of FaceTime. They hadn’t made an official day they’d see each other again, but Remus hoped that it wasn’t too long. He didn’t realize how much he fancied Sirius until he left Sirius behind at Heathrow. He felt like he wanted to cry, which seemed ridiculous. What was he? Some lovesick teenager.

“Hello, my darling.” Marlene grinned, taking a seat in her chair. The other makeup artist was busy with the lead of the show. They were talking loudly and laughing, catching up with one another from their absence. “How was your time off? You’re looking tired.”

“My time off was not always off, I had some work to do.” Remus shrugged one of his shoulders.

“You look tan though, so you must have been on some vacation.” She did a funny thing with her eyebrows like she was trying to be suggestive.

“Sirius didn’t tell you?” Remus said quietly.

Marlene’s face lit up in a smile, clearly showing she had no idea he was away with Sirius. “What? You went on vacation together?”

“Botswana for five days.” He mumbled but he felt himself smiling.

“Oh my god, I thought you weren’t going to arrange any dates or whatever. Instead you went all the way to Africa together? That’s a bit of a step.

“And we stayed at a camp alone together for six days.”

“Romantic?”

“Insanely. I didn’t want to leave.”

“So, are you going to go for it officially?”

“We’re not going to go public but we’re going to continue to see each other. He’s going to try to get out here in a few weeks. I’ll go over there when I can.”

“Brilliant!” She said with a little clap. “I’m so happy for you. But you look exhausted.”

“Jet lag. I have dinner with my parents tonight and I want to sleep but I promised.”

“Where do they think you were?”

“With you on location.”

“Ah, are you going to tell them?”

“They won’t believe me. I told Dorcas and I was shocked she believed me.” Remus said, reading over the notes he had for what Marlene’s look needed to be for today. “It’s surreal. I kept forgetting who he was this past week, which I think is how it should be. It’s wonderful.”

“Ah, you’re in love.”

“I am not in love.” Remus laughed it off as he went to work finally. “Now stop talking so I can think.”

“I touched a nerve.” She smirked. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Later that day, Remus made the short trip to his parent’s place outside the city. They seemed off, something about their mood wasn’t right but they were acting like everything was fine so Remus didn’t worry about it. “So, dear, how was your trip?”

“It was fine. Ah, actually it was amazing because I didn't work.” Remus itched the bridge of his nose.

“What?” His mum furrowed her brow.

“I was with this guy I’m seeing. We went to Botswana.”

“What?” His parents said simultaneously.

“I’m seeing Sirius. Prince of England, um, you might have seen him on television.” Remus bit his lip. He still wasn’t exactly sure how to break the news to people that he cared to tell that he was dating Sirius. It was sort of big news and hard to believe.

“You’re joking.” His dad laughed loudly. “That’s a good one.”

“No, I am honestly dating him,” Remus said, reaching for his phone. “Marlene set me up on a blind date with him months ago then we went on another date about two months ago. I didn’t want to date him but I like him so much and he invited me out to Botswana and I said yes. I spent six days there and I really really like him.” Remus felt like he was frantically explaining himself as he found the photos on his phone from his trip. He pulled up the one of he and Sirius with their arms around each other in front of the elephants. “See.”

“That has to be photoshopped.” His mum squinted at the picture.

“It’s not!” He scrolled to the next image, which was a video of Remus took an on safari with Sirius narrating it like David Attenborough.

“It’s real.” His dad’s eyes were wide. “You’re dating royalty. But you’re just a guy from Toronto.”

“I know!”

“Didn’t he wear an S.S. Uniform to a party once?” His mum said with a furrowed brow.

“Yes, we talked about that and I told him he was an idiot. He was given lessons on what happened and visited the Holocaust memorial. The Queen went hard on him for it. I told him you’d be doing the same. He’s different now and sorry. He made a stupid mistake. People can grow and learn.”

“Hmm,” She just nodded. She didn’t seem to believe it.

“Have you met his family?” His dad asked as he locked his phone.

“No, they know we’re dating though. I didn’t want to tell anyone because it didn’t feel real. But it’s very real.”

Remus looked at his mum and realized she had tears in her eyes. “Why are you crying?” He chuckled. “Did you think that I’d be single forever?”

“No, no, of course not.”

“Is it the Nazi thing? I promise mum, he’s not the same guy that he was when he did that.”

“No, I’m not happy about that but that’s not it. I'm sure he has grown. We just wanted to tell you something that’s not so great and you’re here with this information you seem so excited about.”

It felt like his heart dropped into his stomach, “What is it?”

She took a deep breath and his father took her hand. “Remus, I have cancer. Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” Her voice broke.

Remus shook his head. He had noticed different things about his mother recently that went against her usual healthy image. She was always tired, complaining about her aching muscles, and every so often had horrible coughing fits. He just chalked it up to age because no one wants to think of their parents as sick, old was bad enough. “I… that’s bad right?”

“It’s not great.” She took a deep breath. “But we can fight it, we are. I’m starting all these treatments. There’s hope, there’s a lot of it.”

Remus wasn’t sure what to do or say because he was never in this situation before. How could one thing be going so amazing for him but then something else? He didn’t feel ready to go through this. But was anyone ever prepared for something like this? Probably not. Remus took a shaky breath. “Do you need anything? Is there anything I can do?”

“No, nothing, at least right now.” She assured him.

“We’ll be okay, Remus.” His dad said.

“Okay.” Remus sighed.

They talked a little more about her treatments and what everything meant as they all tried to eat their dinner. Eventually Remus’ mum seemed to be over the conversation of her health and wanted to take her mind off of it so she asked about Sirius. “Tell us more about Prince Sirius, please.”

“Um, to start off he’d tell you that it’s just Sirius.” Remus smiled a little, it felt somewhat forced. They tried to go on the rest of the night like his mum wasn’t very sick. But they did hear all about Sirius.

When he got back to his condo, he looked at the time and did the math for what time it would be in London. He was so emotionally and physically tired but he knew that sleep would be fitful that night. He just felt like he needed Sirius at the moment so he picked up the phone and called. He assumed it’d go right to voicemail, which it did. He left a message, “Ah, hi Sirius. I’m just calling because it’s been a long day. I fucking hate this time difference officially. I’ll talk to you at a normal time tomorrow I guess.”

He hung up and went to get ready for bed. Remus hunkered down in his bed, turning on his TV and computer. As he was deciding on what to watch his phone rang, Sirius’ name and number showing up on the screen. “Sirius.”

“Are you okay? You didn’t sound it in your message.” Sirius’ voice was thick with sleep.

“It’s nothing.” Remus said confidently enough but then a sob bubbled up. “Sorry.”

“Oh no, what’s wrong?”

“It’s my mum, she has cancer.” He sucked in a breath, trying to calm down.

“Oh, no, Remus, I’m sorry.” Sirius said. “I wish I could be there to give you a hug right now.”

“I wish you could be here too.” Remus reached for the tissues he kept on his nightstand. “I didn’t know what to say or do. I still don’t know what to do. I feel like I should look it up online. It’s Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and I’ve heard of it but I don’t know much about it.”

“I’m not sure if you should look it up online. I feel like that’s always a dangerous thing to do.” Sirius advised him. “Maybe ask your mum more about it tomorrow. Go to lunch or something.”

“Yeah, I could.” Remus wiped his eyes. “I told them about you.”

“You did?” Sirius laughed. “Did they believe you?”

“Not at first but I showed them a few pictures.”

“The appropriate ones I assume.” Sirius said with a laugh.

“Yes, appropriate ones.” Remus said before blowing his nose. “God, I hate all of these feelings.”

“All the feelings?”

“How I’m feeling about my mum being sick and how I’m feeling about you. There’s just so much.”

“I’m sorry, love.”

“You’re just so good to me too, I can’t stand it.” Remus snickered.

“I can be a twat if you want me to be.”

“No.” Remus shook his head.

“I wish I could fix this for you.”

“Find a cure for cancer?”

“Mmm, I’ll see who is the patron to that charity.” Sirius said thoughtfully, as if he was earnest about that.

“Thank you for being you, Sirius.”

“I wish I could be closer to you right now. If I can, I’ll come out to see you very soon, all right?”

“Really?” Remus smiled, running a hand over his face. “Is there something between like and love because that’s where I’m at with you right now.”

“I’m there too.” Sirius said softly. “If you want me to, I’ll fly out tomorrow. I’ll come now. I’ll cancel the things I have to do.”

"No, just talk to me right now."

"I can do that. Want to hear about how James got the nickname Prongs? Of course you do..."

Remus let out a long breath, feeling comforted by Sirius’ words. That night he fell asleep listening to Sirius babble about different things, not comprehending anything the man was saying. His sleep was restless but he eventually had to get out of bed the next day and get to work. When he arrived at work he found a bouquet of flowers waiting for him with a note that said:

_It will be a long day but you can do it. Love, Padfoot_

Sirius’ old nickname was Padfoot, which Remus loved for some reason when he learned about it in the story of James' nickname the night before. It fit him nicely. Remus’ day was long but he made it through and made plans to spend time with his mum and learn more about what was ahead.


	5. Chapter 5

Two weeks later, “Thank you all for coming out today. It is so wonderful that Prince Fleamont has set a great example of charity for our family. He’s been my main source of encouragement as I work to get my charity for wounded veterans, Invictus, off the ground.” Sirius said as he went through the lines of his well planned out speech. It was important, celebrating Monty’s charity work for his birthday but Sirius couldn’t stop thinking about how after he finished this engagement he was getting on a plane to go to Toronto.

Once he finished the speech, he did the usual small talk and shaking hands of the guests. Soon enough it was all over and he was about to get back in his car to head to the airport. “Where are you running off to? I feel like you’re always jetting off these days.” Monty laughed, patting Sirius on the back.

“Well, I’m sort of seeing someone who lives far away. I haven’t seen him for a bit and his mum isn’t doing well.” Sirius said quietly as they made their way to the front of the building.

“You’re seeing someone and you haven’t told us?” Monty raised an eyebrow.

“He hasn’t wanted to go public yet. He’s a makeup artist from Toronto.”

“Ah, I can see why he’s hesitant. Will we get to meet him?”

“I would like you to. I haven’t met his parents yet. We only really had 2 dates then we went to Botswana for five days together.”

“Hmm, but you seem to really care for him.”

“I do.” Sirius smiled. “I just hope he feels the same way. It sounds like he does.”

“He’d be mad not to feel that way, Sirius.” Monty assured him. “What is going on with his mother?”

“She has cancer. She’s doing chemo and hasn’t been doing well as one would assume. Remus has been very stressed out. I thought I’d surprise him.”

“That will be nice for him.” Monty said as they came to their cars. “When will you be back?”

“Next week, Sunday night.”

“All right, I’ll see you then. Let me know how that all goes, maybe then we can set a date for him to come here and we can meet him.” Monty smiled before getting into his car.

Sirius got into his own and decided to call Remus on his way to the airport. He thought that he wanted to throw him off. Remus was just starting his day off. “Hi, love.”

“Hi, Sirius.” Remus said with a yawn. “How was Fleamont’s thing?”

“Fine, I’m sure they’ll be some charming sound bites of me later.” Sirius said, watching the city of London go by. “Are you off to work, then?”

“Yeah, leaving now. I’m fucking exhausted, I couldn’t sleep again last night.”

“Have you thought about therapy or some support group? I was talking to my therapist and she said that there are things for family members of cancer fighters.” Sirius suggested.

“Um, no, I haven’t. I didn’t realize that it would affect me like this.”

“It’s stressful.”

“Also, why are you talking about my problems to your therapist?” Remus chuckled. Sirius heard the door close, probably to his flat.

“You’re an important topic of my conversation because you come up when she asks what’s new.”

“I see.” Remus paused. “What are you up to today then?”

“Seeing my therapist, actually. I’m having dinner with James and Lils tonight.” Sirius lied, he hated how good of a liar he was sometimes. But at least this wasn't hurting anyone. “Are you doing anything after work?”

“Marlene invited me for dinner over her house tonight,” Remus said. That was apart of the plan to surprise Remus tonight.

“That’s nice of her.”

“I’ll at least be away from Dorcas’ hovering for a little while. She’s so worried about me, which is nice but sometimes she’s such a mother hen. Peter and Fleur aren’t any better either.”

“They are just doing what good friends do. James and Lily are the same way with me.”

“I’d like to meet them soon.”

“I’d like to meet your friends too.” Sirius had hopes that would be happening sooner than later. “I’ll let you go and get yourself to work. I’ll see you later?”

“FaceTime then?”

Sirius’ eyes went wide, realizing that he misspoke. “Yep. I’ll be up when you get out of work.”

“Good, I miss your face.” Remus laughed.

“I miss yours as well.” Sirius said. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

***

After his long flight, Sirius took a car to Marlene’s house outside the city limits of Toronto. By the time he got there it looked as if Marlene, her boyfriend Caradoc, and Remus were already there. Sirius took his bag and rang the doorbell.

Marlene answered with a big grin on her face. “Hello, darling.” She hugged him tight. “He’s in the kitchen talking to Caradoc.”

“Fantastic.” Sirius set his bag down by the door and follow Marlene towards the kitchen. Remus had his back to them as he was laughing at something Caradoc must have said. Sirius was surprised how he felt immediately relaxed just seeing him. He definitely loved Remus, there wasn’t much doubt in his brain that he did but it just seemed so early to say it. Was it really, though?

“We have one more for dinner, I hope we have enough.” Marlene said.

“Who—” Remus stopped short as he turned around and saw Sirius standing there. “You’re here.”

“Yes, of course I’m here. I’m bloody tired but I’m here.” Sirius said, moving so he could wrap his arms around Remus. He smelt like makeup remover— that certain one he uses— and his woodsy cologne. “Surprise.”

“You really meant you’d see me later when you called, huh?”

“Yes.” Sirius grinned at his boyfriend.

“I was annoyed because you didn’t answer my FaceTime when I got out. I thought you were sleeping.” Remus said before kissing him quickly. “Are we really having dinner here?”

“Ha, I’m not hungry but you can eat if you want. I won’t starve you or ruin Marls and Caradoc’s plans.”

“I doubt he wants to stay now that you’re here.” Marlene said. “Remus, go home.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Remus said going over to give Marlene a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“When you get married, I have to give a speech.” Marlene joked as Remus let go of her.

Sirius hugged her as well as Remus said goodbye to Caradoc. Soon enough Remus was driving them to his flat in the city. They were just quiet, listening to Remus’ music as they drove. Sirius was never so relaxed in silence with another person, that probably said something about how well they got on. But Remus eventually broke it as they got close to the flat. “How do you get around without people taking your picture all the time?”

“A hat and glasses. It’s an easy enough trick as long as you’re not lingering places.” Sirius said, reaching into his coat pocket for bother of those things.

“Really?”

“If I tuck my hair under the hat, it works like magic.” Sirius winked, pulling on his hat. He then slipped on his glasses.

“Huh, I guess if you walked by me I wouldn’t really notice. I do like the glasses on you. It makes you look more intelligent.” Remus said, pulling into a parking garage.

“Thank you.” Sirius leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “So, can I meet Dorcas, Peter, and Fleur at some point?”

“We can probably do dinner or something. I finally told Peter, Fleur, and Mary and they were in complete shock. But they’d probably like to do dinner to something one day.” Remus said, parking the car. “When do you have to leave?”

“Mmm, I leave next Sunday.”

“So I have over a week with you. It’s Friday.”

“Yes, you’re stuck with me. We’re not going to be able to do much because I can’t really go out places. Everyone thinks I’m still back home.”

“I’m very happy to be stuck with you.” Remus said, getting out of the car. They got Sirius’ luggage and headed for the apartment.

Once inside Remus’ flat Sirius flopped onto the sofa with a sigh. “Do you want me to make you dinner? I’m not great in the kitchen but I bet I could make something that’s all right.” He offered.

“No, I have some leftovers. Are you sure you’re not hungry?”

“Nah, I’m good but I’ll have some ice water. I think that will help wake me up a little. I don’t want to sleep just yet.”

“That’s probably a good idea so you’re not up before dawn. Come in the kitchen with me so we can talk and you don’t fall asleep.” Remus said and Sirius followed him.

“So, how’s your mum?” Sirius asked watched Remus opening his refrigerator as he sat on top of a counter out of the way of both the oven and stove.

“She says she’s doing okay but she’s just so sick and weak. She’s losing her hair. She has about 8 more weeks of Stanford V Protocol and 4 more rounds of chemo. Then we see what happens after that.” Remus shook his head as he set a styrofoam container on the counter.

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” Remus said clearing his throat, grabbing a plate from the cabinet. “She wants to meet you. If you want to do that, I think I’d like you to meet her now in case… you know… ah…”

“Of course.” Sirius reached over and squeezed Remus shoulder. “If she’s up to it, I would love to meet her.”

“It’s not too early?” Remus asked, dumping the lo mien out on to the plate.

“Well, even though we’ve only seen one another technically four times now we’ve been talking for months now. It’s just the distance. And Botswana counted as like ten dates.” He said before putting the plate in the microwave.

“True. So, I can tell you I love you then because I do. This is the most unromantic way to say it, as I heat up food in the microwave and you’re sitting here tired from your travels.” Remus chuckled, moving away from the microwave to stand between Sirius’ legs.

Sirius wrapped his arms and legs around Remus, resting his forehead against Remus’. “I love you too. I don’t think there’s ever a right or wrong to say it, right? Just when you feel it.”

“Right.” Remus kissed him, his hand resting his hand on Sirius’ shoulder. “Thank you for surprising me.”

“You’re welcome.” Sirius sighed, relaxing against Remus for a moment. Everything just felt right.

***

After spending a very lazy day mostly in bed on Saturday, Remus invited his mates over for brunch Sunday. Sirius never had been formally introduced to the friends and family of people he had gone out with. His old boyfriends were either in his circle or they weren’t very serious. Sirius wished that and Remus lived at least in the same bloody time zone but that wasn’t an option at the moment. But things were working out so well with them and he was so in love. He hoped that it was going to work out once they went public because that was going to be the true test.

“Anything I should know?” Sirius said, placing a pitcher of mimosa on the table, which was covered in fruits, bagels, spreads, and some pastry. Remus was also going to be cooking eggs and bacon when they arrived.

“Fleur is critical of everything. Peter will be silently judging you but he a good guy. Dorcas will ask you nine million questions that have to do with what your intention is with me. They’re going to be worse than meeting my parents. I can tell you that.”

“Great, so if I survive this then your mum and dad tomorrow night will be nothing.” Sirius sighed. They had made plans to go over to the Lupin’s house for dinner the next night. It was the best day according to Hope, Remus’ mum. Sirius hoped they weren’t going to be too much of an imposition on the Lupins. He knew that Hope wasn’t doing well but she seemed adamant on meeting Sirius. That made him worry more for her health and how Remus was probably feeling because of this.

“Exactly,” Remus pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth as the front door opened. “By the way, Dorcas has a key that she abuses. Old roommate habit.” He laughed as he heard the voices coming.

“Your Royal Highness.” A woman with wavy brown hair said with a smile and a curtsy.

“It’s just Sirius, please.”

“Remus said you would say that.” The woman with blonde hair and a slight Quebecois accent. Sirius knew that was Fleur.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. “Really?”

“I know I haven’t seen you encounter many people but you’ve said that to all the staff in Botswana and it was like the third thing you said to me.”

“I’m really that predictable? Shite.” Sirius laughed, going to shake the groups hands. They each introduced themselves.

“I mean, you’re not generally predictable, you just do that same thing. Other than that you’re fine.” Remus smiled. “So, I warned him that you’re all going to attack him with questions. You can do that while I finish cooking. Good luck and you guys try to scare him too much.” Remus kissed him on the cheek before going into the kitchen.

“I made mimosas. Remus said alcohol is good to ply you with.” Sirius joked and every laughed a little.

“So, you talked Marlene into getting Remus to go on a date with you, eh? How did you manage this?” Fleur asked, going to the table and everyone else followed.

“I thought he was fit so I asked her about him. I didn’t think it would actually happen.”

“He is out of your league.” Dorcas chuckled. Sirius liked that she felt comfortable enough to joke. “Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just date someone, I don’t know, used to media attention and shit?”

“Of course it’d be easier but I don’t want anyone who is. I want Remus.” Sirius felt like he was being put on trial. But it was nice to see that Remus’ friends cared about him. He was sure Lily, James, Andi, and Nym would all do the same — but they were family so that was a bit different.

His old friends from Hogwarts Fabian, Gideon, Benjy, and Mary would do it too but they hadn’t seen each other much since they left boarding school. They came from families of high society but they were generally good people. Since Sirius went a bit wild after that, he fell out of touch with his good, sane friends. Maybe he could get back with them not that he was settled again.

“Good answer.”

“I’ve never been on a job interview but I assume this is what it’s like to some extent.” Sirius took a seat after pouring himself a drink. “Have you done this with all of Remus’ significant others?”

“You’re the first real significant one.” Peter said with a shrug.

The group continued with questions trying to feel Sirius out and he answered them all honestly. When Remus came in with the rest of the food they ate and things became more relaxed. By the end of the afternoon, the group seemed to like Sirius. He took a big sigh of relief because he worried what would happen if Remus’ friends didn’t like him.

Sirius also learned more about Remus from his mates. His favorite piece of information was that Remus’ nickname was Moony. Sirius decided that he was going to have to call him that all the time because it was just to damn adorable not to.

“Okay, you passed the test.” Dorcas said after checking her phone. It was nearing four in the afternoon so they had been sitting around talking for almost five hours. “I should get going because I have an early morning and if I drink anymore I’m not sure I’ll manage. But it was nice to meet you Sirius.”

“Agreed, we should do this again sometime.” Peter said.

“Maybe we can get you all out to London someday.” Sirius said. “I’m sure we could have some fun there.”

Now he had to hope that Remus’ parents would like him as well.

***

Sirius looked over at Remus who was biting at his lip as he drove to his parent’s house the next night. He reached over and took Remus’ hand and squeezed it. “My Moony,” Sirius smiled at him.

“Oh, you’re really using that aren’t you.”

“It’s sweet, like you.” Sirius laughed. “Are you doing okay?”

“It’s just weird you’re meeting my family. I don’t know. I’ve had people meet my parents but it’s always been sort of incidental. Like the guy I was dating during my graduation from school met them because they all went. Then I had a girlfriend meet them one day because we ran into them when we were out to eat. I’ve never purposely had someone come over for dinner. I’m 33 so, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad or what.”

“It’s probably bad but that’s only because I haven’t either.” Sirius laughed.

“I just wish my mum was feeling better. She’s so great and always full of life but she’s just always so sick and tired lately.”

“I know,” Sirius said as they pulled into a driveway. He looked at the house in front of them. Sirius sometimes marveled at how average a life Remus had and this was another moment. It was like something out of a book or TV show. Surely, Remus would think that about Sirius’ life if he experienced all the things that Sirius did. They were just so different there, Sirius hoped it wouldn’t be a problem in the future. “Okay, here we are.”

“You survived my friends, this will be nothing. My parents are completely harmless. Though you will hear it from my mum about the Nazi costume.”

“I know, I’m prepared for it.” Sirius said, grabbing the flowers from their place in the back of the car. “I’m ready.”

“Glad you are.” Remus snickered before Sirius kissed him on the cheek.

When they got to the front steps Hope was there opening the door. She was skinny and pale with a beautiful silk scarf wrapped around her head. She looked sick but there was still something in her eyes that said the fight wasn’t even close to being done for her. “Prince—”

“Mum, please, call him Sirius before he says ‘please call me Sirius’.”

“Ha, okay… Sirius it’s nice to meet you.” She did a little bit of a curtsy.

“You as well, Mrs. Lupin. These are for you.”

“Now, you can call me Hope and thank you.” She chuckled, taking the flowers. “Come on in.”

Sirius followed the matriarch of the Lupin’s into Remus’ childhood home. It was so quaint and Sirius could just picture a younger Remus running around causing just the minimal amount of trouble. Sirius wished he grew up with Remus and knew him when he was younger, especially when they were both teenagers. That would have been nice for him back then when he was just spiraling out of control. Remus was just so grounding. He also had a feeling they would have caused a fair share of their own mischief. But the good kind.

“Don’t call him Prince, dear, it’s just Sirius. Apparently it’s a thing for Remus.” Hope said as they came to the kitchen where Lyall was. He was tall, just like Remus and had a comforting presence just like his son.

“It’s not a thing.” Remus rolled his eyes. “This is my dad. Dad, this is Sirius.”

“Lyall, I guess if we’re going on a first name basis.” Lyall laughed, moving away from the oven.

“Remus said you like anything apparently, so we made a pot roast with some potatoes and veg. Hope you like it because he was specific.”

“It smells delicious!” Sirius said, hopefully not too eagerly but it really did smell like heaven.

“You know, I always gave Hope a hard time about how she wants the house looking nice all the time by asking if we were having the Queen over. I guess she was sat prepared this whole time.” Lyall snickered.

“Well, I’m a poor replacement for Effie. She’s far better at being royalty than I am.” Sirius shook his head.

“Should we sit?” Hope asked.

Sirius nodded and followed her to their dinning room table in the next room. Lyall stayed by the stove, watching the roast and he asked Remus something as Sirius followed Hope. That left Sirius alone with Hope so he knew what was coming. “Thank you for inviting us over tonight. I’m so happy to meet you.”

“I wanted to see who was making my son so happy with my own eyes. I’ve never seen him so head over heels before.” Hope said as they took a seat the table. “So, the Nazi costume.”

“I was an idiot then and I wasn’t thinking. I swear I would never do that again. I had no cares in the world about anyone but myself at that time but I promise, I would never. It was a daft party. I thought I was being funny but obviously I was not.” Sirius babbled. “Effie has put me through the gauntlet and I took private classes on the effects of the Holocaust. I’m sorry.”

Hope laughed, “Okay. Remus already told me all about that but I wanted to see what you had to say for yourself.”

“I used to be very selfish but I really am not like that any longer.”

“Okay,” Hope smiled then yawned. “I’m sorry, I’m just always tired these days.”

“It’s understandable. How are you feeling?”

“Sick, all the time. I just want to feel normal again.”

“Hopefully you will soon.”

She frowned then smiled, “I’m glad Remus has you. He never talks about his feeling to us.”

“He talks to me somewhat. I also encouraged him to go to a support group. They have those, you know? My therapist told me about it.”

“You have a therapist?”

Sirius nodded, “She’s great. I’d recommend her to everyone.”

“Why are you talking about therapists?” Remus came in carrying a plate of food.

“We’re just talking.” Hope said with a smiled.

Dinner went perfectly, conversation flowed easily with the Lupins. By the end of the night, he felt like he knew the Lupins for most of his life. He didn’t want to leave the house. He loved looking at pictures of Remus growing up. He loved talking to Hope and Lyall. Remus seemed completely relaxed and at home in the house. It was a perfect little life. He could understand why Remus always said things were average for him.

Sadly, Hope getting sick meant things were no longer average for the Lupins. Sirius wished that he could somehow fix it for them. The Lupins were all kind, funny, and they had a nice sarcastic side to them too under it all. Sirius wanted that in his life for as long as he could get it. He also wanted Remus to have his mum around for as along as possible.

Later that night he was laying in bed with Remus looking at the ceiling. “Lost in your thoughts?”

“A bit.” Sirius sighed as Remus rolled over and wrapped his arms and legs around him. “I just wish I could help your mum. She’s a great lady. She was telling me about the time she was protesting for the First Nations people and she got arrested. Brilliant.”

“She’s very active politically. When I came out she was there at Pride waving the bi flag before I was. Literally, I was working on the day of the parade.” Remus snorted a laugh. “She cares so much about everyone and wants the right stuff to be done.”

“She seems like a great mum and great person.” Sirius played with Remus’ curly hair.

“I just want her to feel better.”

“Me too.” Sirius awkwardly kissed Remus’ temple. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Sirius continued to play with Remus’ hair until the other man fell asleep. He hoped that Hope would be around for him to visit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I’m stealing the Invictus name because I couldn’t come up with anything better.
> 
> Also, I'm done writing! I need to go back and edit my remaining chapters. I'm also working on a new story about Sirius going solo post-boy band and trying to drag his old mate Remus into it all.
> 
> This series will also have a second part and possibly third part in the future.


	6. Chapter 6

Remus was in the Royal Lounge at Heathrow waiting for his car to arrive. He had officially been seeing Sirius for six months now and it was only the first time Remus was the one to travel to London to spend some time together. Shooting for The Burrow was on break as it was getting into the holiday season, so Remus had some time on his hands. He also wanted to get away before word came back on his mum’s prognosis. Remus had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be good because of how she was looking. But maybe that was all chemicals she had in her body fighting the cancer.

“Sir, your car is here.” The woman who was in the lounge alerted him. Remus had a feeling that this was going to be the week that his relationship with Sirius broke. When he came to Toronto, Sirius kept a very low profile because it was easier there. Sirius was expected to be in Toronto. Plus, they also stayed in for the most part. Remus invited his mates over or they would go to his parent’s house. They did go out to eat once when Sirius made arrangements to dine privately at a posh restaurant. But he was tired worrying about being seen in public with Sirius. He had other things that were far more important.

Soon enough he arrived at Kensington and Sirius was waiting outside from him with an umbrella because it was raining. “Hello, my Moony.”

“Hi, Padfoot.” Remus said as a footman took out his bag from the car. “I’m so happy I’m here. I missed you.”

“I missed you too. How’s Hope?”

“When I left she was doing okay.” Remus shrugged as he followed Sirius into his place. He had seen the inside of Sirius’ place at Kensington because of FaceTime but it was a bit different stepping into it. It amplified how different their lives were. But at least it wasn’t too gaudy and rich looking. You could definitely tell that it was an expensive place, but you wouldn’t immediately know that it was located in a palace.

“Good.” Sirius took his hand after putting the umbrella down in the entryway. The man carrying his bag went off somewhere. “So, Lily and James want to meet you but I talked them out of doing it today because I know you’d be jet lagged. They suggested lunch tomorrow and my cousins Andi and Nymphadora are coming over as well. They’re a good lot and they’re all very excited to meet you.”

“That’s great. Everyone sends their hellos and stuff. Dorcas said the next time I come out here she’s joining.” Remus said as Sirius led them to the sofa. They both sat down with a sigh.

“There’s plenty of space for her and anyone else who wants to visit.” Sirius kissed him sweetly.

“God, it’s good to be here,” Remus said before moving to press his lips to Sirius’ again. “So, ah, how does this all work. Like, what do I need to know?”

“What do you mean?” Sirius furrowed his brow.

“Does like, the Queen walk in at any moment or the Prince?”

“Ha, no. Effie and Monty are up at Balmoral for the week, so they won’t be dropping in unannounced. They wouldn’t do that anyway. They told me they’d rather we wait for them to meet up after we go public. James and Lily are right next door and do drop in unannounced, as does Harry, but they’ve promised me not to this week. And yes, you’d have to bow and shite to Effie but don’t worry about that this week. Call James ‘your royal highness’ once and then he’ll tell you to call him James. You’ll be fine. You’ve managed to disconnect the title from me. You’ll eventually be able to do it with them too.”

“Yeah, well, it helps that you’ve had my dick in various parts of your body and vice versa. That helps level things.” Remus snorted a laugh.

“That’s not going to work with everyone else.” Sirius laughed, resting his head on Remus’ shoulder. “You really will like them, I promise you. Eventually, you’ll get over the titles, I’m sure. You will not like my other cousins Bella, Cissy, and their husbands I can tell you that much. Horrible people. But hopefully, you won’t have to encounter them often if ever.” Sirius shrugged.

“I hope.”

“Speaking of Hope, really how’s your lovely mum?” Sirius asked. The Prince and his mother have struck up a friendship it seemed. After Sirius came to dinner, they had lunch with Remus’ mother later in the week before Sirius left and the two spent the whole time talking about Hope’s past activism and her job as a social worker. Then Sirius came back to Toronto twice in the time between then and now, and Sirius had gone to see her alone four times when Remus was at work. They had dinner or lunch with them a few times too. Sirius had even called her a couple of times to wish her well.

“I don’t know. I can’t tell if she’s sick because of cancer, the medicine, or both.”

“I’m sorry. She’s so lovely.” Sirius frowned and kissed Remus’ cheek.

“She thinks you’re great too. I’m glad you’ve met her and got to know her a bit in case…” Remus didn’t want to say the last few words of the sentence. He thought the words enough but had a hard time saying them out loud. It was as if they were said out loud then it would happen.

“I know.” Sirius rubbed his arm.

They sat there quietly for a few minutes. Remus heard the footman leave then decided to ask, “Sirius, what’s going to happen when we go public?”

“Ah, well, the media will freak out. People will do everything they can to get to know who you are. It’s going to be crazy. I think you know that though.”

“Yeah…”

“Do you want to do it?” Sirius questioned.

“Absolutely. It’s the next logical step in our relationship.” Remus said with a smile. “I know it’s all going to change. Everything is going to be different.”

“Not me loving you. That’s going to stay just the same.”

“Me too.” Remus nodded. “How do we do it? Do we go out or something?”

“I think we should talk to the family about it tomorrow. I think there’s a more elegant way to go about it.” Sirius reasoned. “They’re far better than I am at PR.”

“Okay. So, now that’s taken care of, want to give me a tour of your place?”

“Yes, come on.” Sirius stood up and dragged him up with him to give him the grand tour of his cottage.

***

Remus nervously paced after changing into a nice pair of trousers and a button-down shirt. It was just going to be a casual meal with some of Sirius’ family. Sirius’ family just happens to be a royal family. Even though he was staying on the grounds of Kensington, he still felt like he was in a bit of a bubble with Sirius. Soon enough they were going to go public and it would burst. If they kept going further, then he’d be doing royal engagements and he’d have to have some sort of public persona.

“Relax, Moony. They won’t bite.” Sirius said, coming into the bedroom where Remus was worrying.

“I know, I’m sure they’re great but it’s nerve-wracking.” He was more worried about his future than he was worried about meeting Sirius’ family. He didn’t want to tell him that though.

“You’re amazing. I love you. They’ll love you.” Sirius took his hand. “Come on, let’s head over. I think we’ll get there before Andi and Nym. Ted’s not going to be there because he’s off doing something marginally important. Which I’m sad about because he might be good to talk to as well. He was an outsider to this life, a Black Man. He wasn’t from a modest upbringing but he was still picked apart for who he was. Maybe we can do lunch with him this week.” Sirius said as they began to walk.

“That’d be nice,” Remus said. He had read about Ted Tonks. His dad was a tech giant along the lines of Steve Jobs but he still was rejected by some of the members of the family. Those members were Andromeda’s own sisters and their husbands — the bad ones Sirius had commented on before.

“You’ll love the Tonks. I know that Effie is like a parent to me but Andi was like that 2nd mum, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. She took care of me a lot when I was little and we have a great relationship.” Sirius explained while they walked through the house. “Nym is like the little sister that I never had. She’s hilarious and a prankster. You’ll love her.”

Sirius went on more about the family that they were about to have lunch with as they made their way towards apartment 1A at Kensington. As they got closer, a woman with short cropped hair in blue playsuit was getting out of a car. “SIRUS!” She shouted then jogged over to Remus and Sirius. She threw herself at Sirius and he caught her then spun around.

“Hello, Nym.”

“I’ve missed you like crazy.”

“It’s your fault for going off to study in the states.”

“Yes, well, that’s done and I’m officially home now.” She said as Sirius set her back down. “Hello, you must be the man that has stolen Sirius’ heart according to James.” She smiled. “I’m his lovely cousin Nymphadora. You can call me Nym or Dora.”

“Nice to meet you.” He went to shake her hand but she hugged him instead, surprising him. He thought that the Royals weren’t very touchy.

“I’m so happy Sirius finally is interested in someone enough to bring them to a meal with us. So, when we go in there you’re going to greet my mum formally by Your Royal Highness but then she’ll tell you to call her Andromeda or Andi. But call her Andromeda because she likes the formalness of it even though she’s trying to be relaxed. For James and Lilly, call them Your Royal Highnesses but then call them James and Lily when they tell you to.” Nym explained all this while looping her arm with his and beginning to lead them the rest of the way to the apartment.

“I told him all this already,” Sirius complained as they reached the doorway.

“I’m just making sure.” Nymphadora laughed as the door opened.

Remus took a deep breath as he was led inside the future King of England’s home. The man who Sirius thought of as a brother was going to be a figurehead of the country one day and Remus could be involved in it all somehow. Remus couldn’t believe his blind date got him here.

“Sirius, there you are,” James said with a grin as they entered the sitting room. Next to him was a shorter woman with fiery red hair and a comforting smile, that was Lily. And next to her was an older woman with silvery hair done a braid, Andromeda. To the side, the little Prince Harry was playing with some building blocks. He barely glanced up to see the newcomers before going back to the building. These were all the people, except for Euphemia and Fleamont, that meant the most to Sirius. “Remus, it’s so nice to meet you finally.” He extended his hand.

“Your Royal Highness,” Remus said. “It’s so nice to meet you. Sirius has told me so much about you.”

“Hopefully not too many lies.” James laughed. “You can call me James and this is my wife Lily and our cousin Andromeda.”

Remus shook hands and made proper introductions to everyone before Harry came over. He was immediately scooped up by Sirius. Sirius gave him a big kiss on the cheek. “Harry, this is Remus.”

“Hi, Remus.” He gave a little wave and smile.

“Harry likes soccer and building things,” Sirius said. “I’m going to go build with him.”

“Not yet, Sirius, lunch is already ready.”

“Oh, never mind, Prongslet.” Sirius frowned. “Food first, play later.”

“Fine.” Harry sighed dramatically as Sirius set him down.

Remus went with the group into the dining room. They made polite conversation about Remus’ trip and his job as they sat down to eat. Remus was doing his best to keep all the etiquette that he had read about in mind as they ate. But as the conversation went on, he did find himself relaxing more and more. They were an ordinary family, they all shared embarrassing and funny stories about Sirius.

“So, I think we’re going to let it out that we’re dating,” Sirius said with a smile after they had just spoken about Remus’ mum.

“Oh, wow.” James smiled. “That’s brilliant. Its a big step are you ready, Remus?”

“Well, is anyone? I’ll try my best.”

“We’re all here to support you,” Lily assured him. “Now, how are you going to do it?”

“I was thinking about having Marlene leak it in an interview or something,” Sirius said. “Then we’ll confirm it.”

“Not a horrid idea.”

“I don’t see why we should release a statement when we haven’t even been seen together. We could also be seen going out to eat this week.” Sirius said.

“Sounds good.” Andromeda nodded. “Not to dampen your shine, but this may help keep it from getting too crazy but Nym…”

“Right! I’m getting married! Charlie finally asked!” Nym grinned. “The ring is getting sized but I just wanted to tell you. We’re going to announce it this week.”

“Brilliant, maybe that will take away some of the spotlight on us.” Sirius smiled at Remus.

Remus just nodded, he had no idea what was going to gain the most attention. He had a feeling that a makeup artist dating a prince was going to gain far more attention than Lady Nymphadora marrying a Weasley, an aristocratic family from Northern England. They had been dating for years, since their time at the prestigious boarding school Hogwarts. The engagement would probably be a little blip on the radar compared to Sirius’ news.

“We’ll have to coordinate more on it,” Nym said.

They continued to chat and eat, Remus continued to feel more and more at home. After eating they went out to the garden and Sirius and James ran around with Harry. Remus watched from the side, sitting with the woman he cared most for Sirius at an antique white metal table. “I’ve never seen him so happy,” Andromeda said, putting a hand on his arm. “He was so sad for so long.” She frowned.

“He was also a bit of a bastard,” Nym said and Andromeda gave her a very motherly disapproving look. “Mum! He was, he was in a bad place.”

Remus nodded. Sirius had told him about his mental health struggles growing up and then after when Regulus died. “He told me.”

“He was lonely too like he was missing some other piece. He loves James and us but he was missing some connection, and he found it. I hope you stick around.” Lily said.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere. I know its just going to get harder but it’s worth it. I love him.”

“That’s all that matters.”

***

Three days passed and Sirius and Remus went out to eat somewhat publicly to announce their relationship. Marlene then, in turn, said she’d be willing to give the media a bit more of a confirmation that they were dating. His parents and friends were alerted that something was going to break and they might have paparazzi coming after them with questions. His life was now a strange new reality, even more so than before. He was going to be thrust into the public eye, but he loved Sirius, so it was the logical next step. Most people’s next step may have been moving in together or getting a shared pet of some sort or even an engagement. But life was no longer normal or average. He was dating a prince.

“What’s wrong, you’re looking thoughtful?” Sirius said as he joined Remus in the window seat that overlooked the garden behind the cottage Remus had grown fond of.

“Nothing, just thinking about how everything is changing or has changed already,” Remus said, closing his book. He glanced out the window to look out at the rain-soaked garden. “I love you but I’m just nervous. I’m mostly nervous for my parents because they’re going through enough right now.”

“I know.” Sirius grabbed his hand. “I’ll do whatever I can for them — for you.” Sirius shook his head. “I hate how much people care about this stuff. I’m wishing again that I was just normal.”

“If you were just normal we probably would have never met.”

“That is true.” Sirius shrugged. “Or I could have met you randomly one time you were here with Marlene.”

“Well, that’s not what happened, so we’re going to have to deal with it.” Remus moved, so his was shoulder to shoulder with Sirius. “I do like your romantic thinking there though.”

“What, that we’d somehow be forced together no matter the universe?”

“Yeah.”

“There are infinite Siriuses finding their Remuses out there somewhere through time.”

“Okay, Hawking.” Remus snorted a laugh.

“It’s a nice thought.” Sirius chuckled. “Going back to what we were originally talking about, I’d say you could all hide out here until they all fuck off and find something or someone more interesting.”

“Sadly, I have a job, and if you don’t want me to look like some money hungry asshole, then I should probably keep doing my job for now.” Remus did consider just quitting and moving to England with Sirius, but it would have been far too complicated. It would only make things worse, and it wasn’t as if they were committed to spending their lives together just yet.

“For some time at least.” Sirius smiled then kissed Remus’ cheek. “Plus, your mum is back home and you need to see her.”

“I do.”

“I can come out in a week. Is that okay?”

“Should be. We’ll probably be stuck inside. I’m pretty sure hiding in plain sight as you’ve done a few times now won’t work now that people will know what I look like.” Remus considered, starting out the window still.

“I like being stuck inside with you, so it’s okay. We’ll be able to go out eventually. Lily and James do it successfully. Lily went shopping at the store the other day without even being noticed. Well, she was noticed but it was with someone who snapped a shite iPhone picture.” Sirius explained. “Do you like it here?”

“In London? Yeah.”

“And at Kensington?”

“I do, why? Are you asking me to move in?” Remus said with some surprise.

Sirius laughed and shook his head, “No, I was just wondering.”

Remus didn’t say anything else to that because he wasn’t sure what to say. Sirius was thinking about the future and Remus being there. He hadn’t thought much about moving away from Toronto because he felt like it was so distant but in reality, that possibility was closer than he would like to consider at the moment. His life in Toronto had his friend and his family — his sick mum.

“James would like to know if you would enjoy having dinner with them tonight.”

“Sure.” Remus nodded.

“Brilliant, he likes you. He wouldn’t ask you to come over again. He’ll be telling his mum and dad all about you.” Sirius said as he reached for his phone. “Have you heard from your mum yet?”

“Yes, but no results on the tests. If she has had the comeback, she’s not telling me.” Remus frowned. “I just want her to be okay.”

“I just want her to be okay too, love.” Sirius kissed him quickly.

Remus life felt more up in the air than it ever had in his entire life. What was it going to be like when the news broke that he was Sirius’ boyfriend? He wondered what it was going to be like if his mum didn’t get better. He couldn’t just leave her or his dad. He also worried if he and Sirius could make it through the media scrutiny. Remus also didn’t know what would happen when they moved in together. There were so many unanswered questions that he knew if he thought about for too long, he probably would come up with some horrible answers to.


	7. Chapter 7

_…This is a strange relationship for many reasons. Just one of them is the fact that Prince Sirius is dating a completely unknown commoner. He has no status, no family money, and does hair and makeup on the set of a C-list show. One has to wonder if he’s interested in the fame and fortune. One also has to wonder why Prince Sirius has gone after him? Sirius could have his pick of any man or woman in the world and he’s settled for a makeup artist?_

_We’ll have to see where this all goes. Right now they’re living an ocean’s away, so who knows how long this is going to last._

_Don’t forget to keep up to date with the blog! Sign up for email updates below and check out my youtube channel._

_— Rita Skeeter — You’re number one source for Royal Family News —_

Remus groaned as he left the parking garage because there, as has been since he returned the other month, a group of photographers waiting for him. Luckily, the owner of his building and in turn the parking structure wouldn’t let them on to the property and they had to stay out on the sidewalk. He kept his expression neutral as he went off towards the hospital. Remus hoped that they weren’t going to follow him, but he knew they were because that was his life now. It was jarring for the first few weeks but now it was just annoying.

When it officially broke that he was dating Sirius Black, his phone blew up with calls from people he hadn’t spoke to in years. The first thing he did when he got back to Toronto was he change his number. When he landed in Canada, the paps were waiting for him at the airport and he could barely get home. He could barely breathe whenever he wanted to go do anything. Sirius ended up hiring some security for him, so things were a bit easier but it wasn’t exactly easy. They couldn’t find much dirt on Remus, even people Remus thought may talk about him didn’t seem to be coming forward with any lies. Thankfully he was good at picking who his friends were.

But the media wasn’t the only thing he had to worry about. His mum was back in the hospital getting ready to start her second round of chemo. The cancer hadn’t gone away the doctors decided to change up the treatment one way or another but this meant more chemo and more drugs. She gave him the news the day after he got home. Christmas wasn’t as full of joy and happiness as it usually was. Now it was January and his mum was starting round two. She looked worse than she did to begin with and Remus was terrified about what was going to happen now. How much could a body take?

Not liking that train of thought, Remus went back to thinking about Sirius. He had come by the day after Christmas and spent time with Remus and his family. It was far more difficult to sneak him around now. He was also beginning to worry about what was to come next. He should have been excited for becoming so serious with Sirius but he felt this impending doom now. Remus was going to have to make some real choices sooner or later about what he wanted out of his relationship with Sirius. He loved him and he could handle the bloody media, even if 95% of the gossip was false. Did he even want to marry Sirius? Did he want to move away from Toronto? He hadn’t even thought of what his life would be like as a royal family member. He couldn’t picture himself in that light.

Eventually, after far too much over thinking about things, he got to the hospital and found his way to where he was told his mum would be. To his surprise the nurse directed him to a different room, which made his palms sweat and heart race. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything horrible. She was just in a private room because behind the door was Sirius, his dad, Fleur, and Dorcas. “What took you so long?” Sirius said with a smile, as if he was meant to be there.

Remus’ mum was already sitting in her chair receiving her medicine. “I’m sorry, mum, my alarm didn’t wake me. You’re not supposed to be here, are you?” He looked at his boyfriend.

“I thought I’d come say hi.” Sirius said, standing up to hug him.

“Just pop over across the ocean.” Dorcas rolled her eyes. “He’s too sweet.”

“I’m disgusting, really.” Sirius laughed. “I just wanted to wish Hope well and seeing you is an added bonus.”

“Sometimes I think you like my mum better than me.” Remus said before leaning down to give his mum a kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry, Remus, you’re still my favorite son.” She assured him with a little grin. “Now, when are you two going to get married?”

“Mum! It hasn’t even been a year!” Remus shook his head. “Relax.”

“I’m just curious.” She gave a shrug.

“I’m sorry Hope, but that’s not going to happen just yet. Remus still needs to meet Effie and Monty. You do too.”

“You should get on with it then.” Dorcas said crossing her arms. “You’re both not getting any younger.”

“Aren’t you the same age as us? You’re not married either.” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but I’m not a deeply in love.”

“Okay, enough about us. Please, let’s talk about something else.”

“Something that’s not my health. Take my mind off of it. Oh, Sirius, tell us about you charity. I heard you’re doing some sort of games, like the Olympics but for wounded veterans.”

“Right, I hope you all can come to it. It will be in August.” Sirius said eagerly.

He went on to explain some of the logistics of when, where, and how. Sirius was so passionate about it, which made Remus smile. He never felt proud of another person but he seemed to feel that quite a bit for Sirius. He could also tell that his mum was proud of Sirius. Remus loved that they had such a great bond but he wished that it wasn’t as pushed and rushed as it was. It was only like that because his mum’s health was not good.

When his mum was done with the chemo, his dad took her home and Sirius took Remus home. Dorcas promised to drop off his car the next day to get the paparazzi off their track. That was still a strange thing for him to think about. “How are you doing? Last time I was out you were stressed. You seem a little less stressed about the media.” Sirius questioned after they got off the elevator.

“Yeah, I’m less stressed about it.”

“They’re not really getting much on you. I think it’s driving them all mad.”

“Well, they seem a little less intense as time goes on, so they can’t be going too crazy.” Remus said as he opened the door to his apartment. “According to Marlene I was the most googled person the week we came out with it.”

“You are just so pretty to look at, I’m sure they all just wanted to print out your picture and hang it up.” Sirius said sweetly as they went inside.

“That’s the lamest thing you’ve said.” Remus laughed, tossing his keys onto the table in the entrance.

Sirius came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him. “I know, I’m just trying to get in your pants.”

“At least you’re honest about it.” Remus turned around in Sirius’ arms. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Thank you for coming out here. It’s a trip and you’re always coming out here.”

“I know but I understand you have a job and you’re worried about your mum.” Sirius gave him a little peck on the cheek. “If it were the other way around I would think you’d be doing the same thing.”

“I would. Look, what my mum said about getting married…”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m not planning on proposing yet.” Sirius shook his head. “Were you?”

“God no, not yet. It’s far too soon.”

“She just wants you to be happy.”

“I know.” Remus rested his head on Sirius shoulder and let out a long breath.

“Let’s not worry for a little while. Come on, I can help take your mind off things.” Sirius poked at his shoulder.

For four days, Sirius stayed in the flat and puttered around while Remus was at work. They went over to see his mum when she was up to it enough. He hated how they couldn’t go out and just have lunch when Remus was on his break. Or have a romantic night out on the town without having to rent out a whole restaurant or private room. He was starting to wonder if he could live his whole life like that if they did get married. But that was far off and he didn’t have to worry about that. At the same time fe felt like he should have been worrying about it.

***

Four weeks later, “‘I’m just happy to have a normal bloke. I’ve always wanted a normal life so it’s nice to have that, I guess.’ The Prince said with a smile as he made he way into Chester Street Place where he was attending the event.”

Remus furrowed his brow and frowned. He knew he shouldn’t watch news stories or read papers and blog postings about him, Sirius, or anyone else that was in his life because there were always going to be misquotes and misunderstandings. But he just happened to catch the clip on the news as he was cleaning up before Dorcas came over with dinner. He wasn’t sure why it was hitting him in a weird way but he didn’t like it.

Was Sirius just after a normal life and was he with Remus just for that normality? Surely Sirius loved him. He was there for him with everything going on with his mum. Was it because he liked how normal it all was? Remus didn’t like thinking about it but he was coming to another crossroads in his relationship with Sirius. If he was going to take it any further then he needed to put an end to it all and move on. But if he wanted to go further he was going to have to choose if he was going to move to London because moving to Toronto for Sirius just didn’t make any sense.

The reality of the fact Remus was the one who was going to be making all the sacrifices in their relationship also hit him like a ton of bricks. He sat down on his sofa and just through. Did he actually love Sirius enough do do all of this? Yes, he had gone and pretty much let go of any privacy he had but could he do that forever? To be honest, he had these thoughts floating somewhere in his brain since his mum brought up marriage the other month.

“What’s wrong with you?” Dorcas said, coming into the living room carrying a brown paper bag filled with Thai food. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I… do you think Sirius loves me?”

“Of course he loves you. He’s stupidly in love with you in my opinion.” She sat down after putting the bag on the table. Even though it smelt delicious, Remus wasn’t very hungry.

“What happens if he just wants some normalcy in his life? He always talks about how he wishes his life was different and normal. He was just talking about how happy he is to have a normal guy like me.” Remus gestured at the TV.

“Don’t do this Remus.” Dorcas shook her head. “For some reason you’re spiraling. Are you getting afraid of commitment or something?”

“No, but I need to think about these things. Also, how am I going to be a royal? I am just so fucking average! I’m going to have to move over there and be like a Duke or some shit, I don’t know. I’ll have to make small talk and follow protocol. I’ll have to do interviews on TV and act like I know about things I don’t know about.”

“Okay, I’m confused at your thinking here. First you’re worried Sirius wants you only for your normality now you’re worried about having to be royal. If he just wanted you for your normality, then would he just move here?”

“I don’t know.” Remus sat back. “He comes here a lot, maybe he does want to move here. But would that make any sense? Could he actually move here?”

“And if he does it’s just going to prove your normalcy worry?” Dorcas scrunched her nose. “Remus you have a lot going on right now. I think you need to stop thinking like this.”

That didn’t help Remus, or stop him thinking that way. So after Dorcas left, Remus stayed up and tried to figure out what he was going to do. Somehow, at some point, he reasoned that the only thing he could do was break up with Sirius. He had enough to worry about with his mum, he didn’t need to worry about his relationship either.

So, as soon as he could he called Sirius. “Ah, love, it’s about 4 in the morning. Is everything okay?” Sirius asked once he answered the phone.

“Yes, well, I don’t know. I’m fine and my mum is fine. I just — I’m not sure I can date with you any longer.”

The line was silent as Remus paced the space in front of his bed. He felt like he was doing the right thing, even if it was hurting him for the moment.

“Sirius? Please say something.”

“I don’t understand.” Sirius said with a sharp laugh. “What’s happened?”

“There’s just so much going on right now and it’s not a good time for me to be with you. I’m not sure even why you’re with me anyway.”

“Because I love you. You’re being completely daft right now.”

“Why do you love me then?”

“Because you’re amazing and kind and beautiful inside and out.”

“And I’m normal.”

“Ah, shite you saw that. I knew I sounded like an idiot when I said that. Remus, I’m not with you because you’re normal.” Sirius snickered. “I’m an idiot, surely you’ve realized that by now. It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

Remus rubbed his face. He knew that he himself was being an idiot but he wanted out of the relationship right now. He didn’t know what the future was going to mean for his mum, so he needed to focus on that. “I can’t take the media any more. I can’t keep going around and sneaking away from here to there. I have to plan a trip to the store or for a cup of coffee.”

“I understand.” Sirius said sadly. “I understand that part of it, you should have led with that because that normal thing is bullshite.” Sirius spoke a bitterly. “I don’t know how to fix the media thing. I can’t, it’s impossible. But I thought you were getting on with it.”

“I’m not. I also don’t know how I’m going to fit into your life if we do go further. If we got engaged and eventually married.”

“You’d be you.”

“I couldn’t work.”

“Well… you’d be doing different work I guess. You enjoy charity work, you’ve said so multiple times. We’d also get to travel a lot.” Sirius said. “I’m sure we can figure something out if you did want to continue working. It’s not as if I’m going to be king. I’m not even the technical spare anymore. Remus, I’ve never felt about anyone the way that I feel for you. I don’t know how to make you understand that. I know you’re overwhelmed but maybe we can do something about it.”

“I can’t right now.”

“Later? What if we just stepped back for a few weeks and you could deal with whatever you need to deal with and then we could try again?”

“That’s not going to fix anything. I’ll still have all these same questions that are never going to be answered.”

“They’re not being answered because you don’t bring them up to me. We don’t talk about it. I’m sure there are things that we can change to make it work. I want a future with you. If it’s not you who I’m meant to be with then I guess I have no idea what love is.”

“I’m sorry, Sirius.”

“I can’t make you stay. I always told you that if you told me to fuck off, I’d fuck off. I guess that’s happening right now.”

“I’m not telling you to fuck off… I…” Remus shook his head. “I just can’t do this relationship like I thought I could. It seems so sudden but its been in my thoughts for a while now.”

“I love you, Remus, I really do.” Sirius cleared his throat. “I’m going to be upset about this but if you ever need anything I’ll be there for you. I hope you realize that.”

“I know.” Remus said softly. “It’s not you really—”

“Don’t say it’s not you, it’s me because that’s just too cliche.” Sirius scoffed. “It’s the situation. It is me because I’m a prince. I knew I was pushing my luck after the first date. I’m surprised I even got to be with you for this long.”

“I’m sorry Sirius.” Remus ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m going to hang up now because I’d rather not cry on the phone. I’m worried if I stay on here I might end up begging you to stay. Just give your best to your mum and dad.”

“I will.”

Sirius made a noise as if he was going to say something else but instead the line went dead. Remus tossed his phone on the bed and closed his eyes. He knew that if something were different then he wouldn’t be leaving Sirius. If Sirius lived in Toronto. If Sirius wasn’t a prince. If the media didn’t know. If Remus didn’t have to move overseas eventually. If his mum wasn’t ill. If… If… If…

***

For about two weeks, Remus laid around his place when he wasn’t working. He hated himself for letting Sirius go but he kept telling himself that he was doing the right thing. He ignored any calls from his mates. Nymphadora even called him at one point but he didn’t even listen to her voicemail. He ignored Dorcas when she came to visit. For the first day or so she’d talk at him about how dumb he was for letting someone who loved him so much go. Eventually she stopped coming by.

The only things he did was see his mum, go to work, shower when he had to, and eat when he had to. He was depressed and he knew it was mainly because he mum’s health. She wasn’t getting better and she was getting worse. Most days she could barely get off the sofa. Remus had a hard time looking at her frail form because that wasn’t how his mum was supposed to look. He knew cutting his friends off wasn’t helping his mental health during the time but he didn’t want to have any conversations about Sirius because he knew if he thought and talked too much about Sirius he would end up wanting to go back to him.

One Sunday morning Remus’ life was about to take another turn when his dad called him.

“Remus, you need to come to the hospital, you’re mum’s not doing well.”


	8. Chapter 8

The morning Remus broke up with him, Sirius sat in his bed for three hours, waiting for Remus to call him back. The man knew had to know that he was just emotional and overthinking. Sirius always told Remus that he’d stop pursuing him if Remus told him to so he had to listen because he even extended that into their relationship as it got serious. He knew that the life was daunting, especially for someone like Remus, who had never wanted a public life. Now everything for him was turned upside down. People wanted to know as much about him as they could. Not that they got much because there wasn’t much gossip to be had.

Eventually, James came by because he was supposed to have breakfast with him and Lily that morning. “What’s going on? I thought you were coming over.”

“Remus broke up with me.” Sirius tapped the screen of his phone, hoping that there was a message there from Remus that he somehow missed. Remus was always so level-headed and even keel. Sirius was much more dramatic than the other man, so it was shocking for Remus to be making a harsh and fast choice like this.

“What?” James sat down on the edge of his bed. “Why? Everything seemed to be going just fine.”

“It started it off with him thinking that I only wanted him because he’s normal because I said that daft thing yesterday.” Sirius wished that he could have taken that soundbite back but clearly whatever Remus was thinking ran deeper than that.

“Right, that was fucking stupid. I could have told you that, but I don’t understand why he broke up with you because of it.”

“Exactly but when he went a little deeper it seemed like he didn’t want this life. He never even talked about what could happen or what we could do to make it work. He just wanted out. He was all over the place with how he felt. I didn’t know what to say.”

“Sirius, I’m so sorry. I honestly thought that he was the one.” James patted his leg.

“Me too. I don’t understand why he let us go public with it if he wasn’t going to try to stick it out. The media hasn’t even been that horrible to him. Sure there are a couple of gossip blogs, but they’re nothing compared to what I thought was going to happen.”

“Well, maybe he changed his mind when the paparazzi started following him everywhere. We’ve always known this life. Yes, we know that it’s not exactly wonderful, but we’ve grown to understand it and deal with it. Remus hasn’t had that chance. Maybe we should have had him to talk one of the press secretaries. Did you ever offer any support that way?”

Sirius groaned and shook his head. “He didn’t even want to talk to me about it let alone one of the people here he doesn’t know at all. Remus didn’t want to try to fix it at that point this morning. I think he’s overwhelmed with his mum and stuff.”

“Then maybe he’ll change his mind one day. Would you go back to him?” James questioned.

“Absolutely. Our relationship wasn’t bad, and we bickered about dumb things when we were together, but it was never anything toxic. It was normal couple things.”

“Normal.” James snickered. “You do like that idea.”

“I do, but that’s not the reason why I love him. I love him for a multitude of reasons.”

“I know you do. Was the conversation civil then?”

“Yes, he just told me that he couldn’t be with me any longer, and I did try to figure out why but I don’t think I was an arse about it. There was no yelling or name calling or accusing of anything. I wanted to tell him he was insane and he needed to calm down, but I didn’t think that it would help me out at that moment. I also wanted to yell and cry, but that wasn’t going to be helpful either.” Sirius did cry after he hung up the phone because he had just lost the man that he loved.

“I’m sure you wanted to do those things on the phone. I’m glad you’re mature enough not to because you don’t want to leave him like that.”

“What if he never changes his mind about getting back together? I’m just going to be alone forever.” Sirius bit his lip. If how Remus made him feel wasn’t true love then he didn’t know what that feeling was. He also wasn’t sure if he could put himself through all of this again.

“You’re not going to be alone forever.” James comforted him.

“I should have just listened to you when you said to find someone more used to this life,” Sirius said it, but he didn’t mean it. The eight, almost nine months with Remus were far better than anything he had before and anything he’d probably have in the future.

“I was an idiot then!” James threw his hands up. “I met Remus, and I saw how you two were together. I think it’s going to end up working out. Remus needs some space right now. As you said, he’s going through somethings because of his mum.”

“I asked him if he just wanted space and he said that he didn’t want to do that.”

“We all say stupid things sometimes. People even break up from time to time and get back together. Lily and I broke up there for a little while.”

“That’s because that twat Snape at Cambridge was making up lies about you.” Snape used to be Lily’s best mate. Eventually, she realized that he was just in love with her and grew angry when he saw her falling for James. He made up some rumors about James, but things were eventually set right. “Remus has some internal struggle that isn’t being set off by rumors from some bastard.”

“I know, but I’m just saying that it’s possible for things to be mended,” James said reassuringly. “Until then you’ll just have to soldier on.”

“Mmm, I’m used to soldiering on. My whole bloody life has been an act of soldiering on.” Sirius rolled his eyes. He did complain about his life because he did come from great privilege and he was lucky in so many ways even if he had many personal battles.

“I know.” James frowned. “So, do you want to stay in bed all day or shall we have breakfast. Seeing Haz might brighten your day a little.”

“I don’t know.” Sirius looked to his phone again. He had broken up with people before, and he had been sad, but this was a new type of sad for him. It felt like a part of him was now missing but differently than from what he felt after his brother died. He was away from Remus more than he was with Remus in their relationship, but in that time he knew he was Remus’. Now life was different. Maybe it was because the future was uncertain again. With Remus, he was beginning to think about marriage and kids and so on and so forth.

“Okay, I’ll have breakfast sent to you. You have today to mope then I’m sending in Harry. Maybe you should go see your therapist.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Sirius always felt at least a tad better after talking to someone who wasn’t connected to the problems that he was having. It wasn’t going to solve his problems, but it could help.

***

A little over two weeks after Remus broke up with him, Marlene called him to tell Sirius that Hope was in the hospital and her body was starting to feel the effects of the chemo and all the treatments that she was going through. They didn’t know how much longer she had. She suggested that Sirius should come and see her to say goodbye and be there for Remus through it all. Sirius didn’t know what to do. He was bitter about Remus breaking up with him, but he loved Remus still. He also cared about Hope.

Not long after that phone call, he was having lunch with Effie because he never was one not to take time to be with the woman who was basically his mother. She was doing her best to get Sirius out of the cottage and into the world again after his break up. Luckily the press didn’t know they weren’t together any longer. Sirius didn’t want to declare it, and it didn’t seem like Remus wished to deal with it either.

“What’s wrong, my darling? You seem worse today. I thought things were getting better.”

Sirius looked down at his glass of water, “Hope’s in hospital. Marlene said she’s likely going to die.”

Effie furrowed her brow then looked over her shoulder at the butler standing there, “Marcus, can you please call me Minerva. Tell her Sirius, and I need to be in Toronto as soon as possible. We’re going to pack at least a days worth of clothes. Sirius may need more than a week’s worth, but I need to be back.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Marcus gave nod then left to call Effie’s secretary.

“Effie, what are you talking about? We’re going to Toronto?”

“You need to be there for Remus. I understand you broke up but he was an important part of your life, and you sounded like you were important to him as well from what I gather. I would also like to meet Hope if possible. If you and Remus do marry—”

“We’re not together.”

“Because you’re both just silly boys.” She rolled her eyes. “You love him. James and Lily say he loved you as well. You wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble to be with him if you didn’t feel loved by him as well. I’d very much like to meet the woman you are so fond of too.”

“What if he doesn’t want us there?”

“I doubt Marlene would have bothered calling if she didn’t think you should show up. She’s not one to stir things up from what I gather. She’s one to set things straight. She did set you two up.”

In all honesty, Sirius didn’t need much convincing. He was planning on packing his bags and getting out of there as soon as possible. “Okay, I’ll go but why are you coming?”

“I want to meet her. I thought I’ve made that clear.” Effie gave him a look that told him she hated repeating herself.

“All right. How are you going to—”

“Relax, Sirius, I’ve taken impromptu trips before.” She waved a hand.

***

Some hours later, Sirius and Effie were being led to Hope’s room. It was private, which probably had to do with the fact that the world thought her son was still dating Sirius. Sirius didn’t think he would be so anxious about going to see Hope. Everyone he had known that died, died suddenly. He never saw them at their worst. They were already in a coffin about to be buried by the time he saw them. He also didn’t know how Remus was going to react to him. He hoped that he could be there for the other man.

“Are you okay?” Effie asked as they approached the door.

“I’ll be okay,” Sirius said before he took a deep breath and walked into the room. Hope was laying in bed. She had oxygen in looked even smaller than the last time he saw her. “Hope.”

“Oh, Sirius, you didn’t need to come.” She said with a smile. The room was empty outside of Effie. “And Your Majesty.” She said with wide eyes when she saw Effie. “You’re here. I’m not hallucinating am I?”

“No, I am here. I wanted to meet the woman that Sirius holds in such high regard.” Effie spoke as she came closer to the bed. “I do wish it were under different circumstances.”

“Me as well.” Hope smiled. “Remus and Lyall went home to shower and stuff. I made them leave. They were hovering far too much. Sirius, I’ve never heard you so quiet. You haven’t spoken since you came in.” Hope frowned. “I’m sorry that my son broke up with you. I told him he was an idiot.”

“You didn’t force him to break up with me. It’s not your fault.” She said calmly. “Ma’am could I possibly speak to Sirius myself?”

“Absolutely. I need to make a phone call anyway.” Effie smiled before exiting the room. Sirius wasn’t sure what she was going to be doing or where she and the rest of the crew that went with her would be for the time being.

“Come to sit.” She patted the bed by her hip and Sirius listened. “I know you’re only here because I’m not doing well, but I’m glad you’re here.” She took his hands.

“You’re amazing. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye. Marlene said—”

“I know.” She sighed. “But I’m happier you’re here for Remus. He only pushed you away because he’s scared and upset about what’s going on. Remus has always had it easy, but now things aren’t so much. My health, trying to date someone who’s a prince… it’s all different.” Hope shook her head. “Do you love him?”

“With everything in me.”

“No matter what?”

“I’d love him no matter where he came from or what he did or anything. I’ve been shattered since he broke up with me.” Sirius nodded.

“Then get him back and support him as much as you can right now. Don’t talk about the future with him until he’s dealt with me passing a bit.”

“Hope…”

“I know I’m dying, Sirius, there’s no way around it.” She smiled sadly. “But I’ll leave knowing that you are taking good care of my son. Also, keep an eye out for Lyall when you can. If Remus does move away to England, try to get him to join you all if possible. He’s always liked London. I’m sure he’d find a way to be happy out there. He could open a bookshop like he always wanted.”

“Okay,” Sirius said with tears in his eyes.

“Try to get Remus to talk about his feelings. He’s not very good at that.”

“I know.”

“Also, don’t be stupid and do things like dressing in S.S. Uniforms again, will you?”

“I’d never.” Sirius laughed as a tear ran down his cheek.

“And keep doing good. Your charity is doing great from what I gather, keep that up. Do more too. You have so much power that you may or may not realize. Remus will like that part of his new life when you and he marry. Try to get him involved in charity things as soon as possible.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Sirius chuckled after wiping away the few tears that had escaped.

“Because if I told Lyall and Remus, they wouldn’t listen. They’re trying to stay positive that I’m going to be okay and don’t want to hear anything else. I’ve excepted that it’s my time. I’ve done a lot. The last thing I want to see is that my son is going to happy and okay eventually. I know Lyall will have a hard time, but he’s strong, and I have faith he’ll get on eventually. I worry about Remus, but I know you’ll support him and so won’t his friends.”

“I will.”

“Don’t let him go, Sirius. He’s trying to take the easy way, but he’s going to end up unhappy.” Hope shook her head. “Don’t let it happen.”

“I won’t,” Sirius said.

“Okay, now get the Queen. I can’t believe I sent her out.”

“She understands,” Sirius said, standing up to open the door.

“Good, I’m glad she came. Get to know the future technical in-law right?” Hope smiled, and Sirius just laughed.

Sirius opened the door to find Remus, Lyall, and Effie chatting right in front of the door. “Sirius, I—“ instead of letting Remus finish the thought, he just wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m sorry.” He said quietly as Effie and Lyall moved passed them to go into the room.

“It’s okay.” Sirius held him as tight as he could. “We don’t have to talk about anything now.”

“Right, all right,” Remus said as Sirius let go. The other man grabbed his hand, and they went all the way into the hospital room.

They spent a few hours with Hope before she said she was getting too tired for guests anymore. Lyall stayed, but Remus decided to go home with Sirius. Effie took the flight back in London right away. “It was so nice to meet you, Remus. I wish we could have had dinner instead.” Effie said as they rode the elevator down.

“I appreciate you coming. I think my mum did too.” Remus said, holding on to Sirius’ hand.

“The next time you’re in London, you’ll meet Fleamont, I’m sure he’s jealous that I got the chance to first.” She grinned at Remus. “You’ll have to invite your family as well. That is if you two are still together?” She raised an eyebrow and looked at their hands.

Remus just nodded as they got to the ground level.

About forty-five minutes later Sirius and Remus were safely in Remus’ flat. Remus went to making a cup of tea silently. Much of their time together since they reunited was spent in silence. Effie, Lyall, and Hope did most of the talking back at the hospital. In the car on the way over, they listened to music but didn’t speak. Sirius wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Remus said as he set a cup of tea in front of Sirius on the island he was standing at. “I regretted breaking up with you the moment after I hung up the phone. I’m just so scared, Sirius.”

“I know.” Sirius wrapped his hands around the hot cup of tea. “I wanted to plead for you to stay with me but you were telling me to fuck off in so many words.”

“I’m glad you didn’t listen. Well, you did but not for too long.” Remus leaned against the counter. “She’s going to die, and I just freaked out.” He voice cracked, and Sirius felt his heartbreaking differently. “My life is just upside down, and I think I thought leaving you would somehow make something go back to normal. It was fucking stupid because I don’t want to be without you.”

“You’re not going to be without me.” Sirius let go of his tea and reached for Remus’ hands “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Remus sniffled. “Can we go to bed because I’m exhausted? I want to sleep.”

“That’s fine. I’m a bit jet-lagged anyway.” Sirius picked up his tea with one hand and held on to Remus’ with the other.

***

The next day, Sirius and Remus went to the hospital with Lyall to find that Hope had passed away on their drive over. Over the next few days, Sirius tried his best to make sure Remus was okay — as okay as he could be. He never cared for anyone grieving like that, but he just did the best he could do. Remus mourned and helped plan the funeral while Sirius did a lot of tea making and cooking for both Remus and Lyall. He wasn’t sure how helpful he was, but he was just glad to be there for them both.


	9. Chapter 9

Remus rolled over to see Sirius, again, awake before him scrolling through Instagram on Remus’ phone. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just watched him quietly. It had been now two months since his mum passed away and he was muddling through. He had taken leave from The Burrow and was spending most of his time with his dad, friends, and Sirius. He was healing, and it was much harder than he thought it would be.

Four days ago, Sirius asked him to go to Botswana again to get away again. Remus thought it might help him break out of his pain just a bit. He did feel something shift when he arrived at the camp. He felt like he could take a deep breath for the first time in weeks. Remus wasn’t completely fine, but it seemed to be helping with the healing a bit just being there.

“Good morning, Moony.” Sirius kissed him quickly. “Marlene just posted a picture of her and Caradoc. She’s wearing big rock.” Sirius showed him the picture. “Looks like we’ll be attending another wedding soon.” Another meaning after Nymphadora and Charlie’s, which was coming up in a few months time.

“That’s huge. I’d worry I’d lose something like that.”

“It’s a good thing men don’t normally wear diamonds then.” Sirius laughed before putting the phone on the nightstand. “I love diamonds.”

“I can’t afford to buy you a big rock like that. Plus, you have plenty in your family collection.” Remus said as Sirius cuddled up with him.

“Do you want to get married?” Sirius asked.

“Are you officially asking me?”

“No, I’m just trying to establish where this is going.”

Remus smiled and nodded, “Yeah, I want to get married eventually.” Following the two weeks of loneliness he had after breaking up with Sirius, he realized he didn’t want to live without the other man.

“To me, right?”

“Obviously.”

“Just checking,” Sirius said. “You can ask me.”

“What? Why’s it on me?” Remus furrowed his brow.

“Because I don’t want you to feel pressured. You’re working on mourning your mum. Then you also need to figure out what you’re going to do once we are engaged. The ball is in your court, as they say.”

“Okay.” Remus smiled after he considered it. He did like that he was the one who got to choose what the next step was going to be. It gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and he didn’t feel rushed.

“I want to be surprised when you do it.”

“Do you want it to be a big romantic gesture?”

“No, I just don’t want to know that it’s coming.” Sirius shrugged. “Everything in my life that’s been important has always been planned and ran by me.”

“All right, I won’t ask you any more questions, so you’ll have no idea about anything.”

“That’s how I like it.”

“So, can we hang out with elephants today?” Remus asked, changing the subject.

“Anything you want,” Sirius said before reaching for his phone. “I’ll let Alice know.”

***

When he returned home from Botswana a week later, he went over to his parents' house for dinner with his dad. He hated walking into the house and not seeing his mum there. He wondered when he would get used to it. Probably never. His dad wasn’t likely to get used to it either, but Remus was thankful that the man seemed to be at least able to go on with his life. The house was clean, there was food in the cabinets, and there wasn’t a pile of laundry in the corner of his room.

“How was the trip?” His dad asked. It was a warm day at the beginning of April, so his dad insisted that they use the grill for dinner. Remus was just sitting watching as his dad saw to their meal of steak and grilled veggies.

“Great, Sirius said we should take you and maybe some of our friends and family the next time we go down. You’d like it.” Remus said before taking a sip of his beer.

“That’d be nice. Mum would have liked that.”

“I know.” Remus nodded.

“Did Sirius ask you to marry him yet? Or vice versa?” His dad looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” Remus laughed. “But we did agree that we both eventually want that.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Dad, that would mean that I’d be living in London I think. We haven’t got too specific on it, but Sirius has far more important duties there than I have here. I do hair and makeup. He’s heading charities and doing official royal things.” Remus shrugged up one shoulder.

“That’s fine, Remus. If it’s what you want, then I want you to do that.”

“Won’t you be lonely?”

“Maybe a little, but I do have friends and family here. I wouldn’t be completely alone. As long as you visit your dear old dad, then that’s all that matters.” He laughed, taking the food off of the grill.

“Always,” Remus assured him. “Would you ever move out there?”

“Maybe after I retire, that might be nice.”

“When are you going to retire? You’re at about that age?”

“I’m still doing fine, though.” Lyall snickered. “I’m not weak and feeble. Plus, I need to work right now.”

“I know.”

“So, when is it that you’re going to be asking him?”

“I don’t know. I’ll let you know before I do it though. Do I ask Effie and Monty? Like, what’s the proper thing to do here?”

“Think maybe telling them might be nice. If Sirius asked you, I think it’d be nice if he came to me first. It’s a bit old fashioned but it’s nice I think.”

Remus nodded as his dad brought their food over to the table. They enjoyed their meal, but Remus’ mum was in how thoughts as she tended to be lately.

***

Another four months or so passed and in that time, Remus spent about a month and a half in London. He officially had left The Burrow and was living off of his savings for now. He finally met Fleamont as well as the Weasley and Prewett families that he was always relatively close to. Remus met with some secretaries that advised him on what his life would be like if he did more to London. It was overwhelming, but it didn’t make him want to run away. He was in therapy, at the suggestion from Sirius, who thought it was the best thing possible. Remus didn’t hate it, and it helped to have an unbiased person to talk to about things.

While he was in London, Sirius was giving a press conference about the Invictus games which was now less than a week away. Remus was back at the cottage in Kensington with the TV on as he read a book. Sirius was giving some specifics about the games and ceremonies. Remus knew all about it because the other man had been obsessive over it the last we weeks, so he was barely listening. But he did close his book to text his dad about what his flight plan was.

As he was finishing up his text, Sirius said something that caught his attention, “Now, I thought I would take the opportunity also to discuss a charity that I am getting off the ground. A few months back Remus, the man you all know as my boyfriend, lost his mother to cancer. She was a great woman who told me wonderful stories about her activism. Remus’ favorite story about her is that she was marching a Pride before he was.”

Remus set his phone aside and sat forward, watching Sirius talk.

“Hope encouraged me to keep doing good things for others with my privilege the day before she passed away, amongst otherwise words that I’ve taken to heart. Today I would like to announce the opening of Hope’s House. She was a great ally and advocate for the LGBT community in Toronto, so this will be a place for LGBT youth to come if they don’t have supportive people in their lives like Remus and I have been blessed to have. The house will provide housing to homeless youth, mental health services, warm meals, and different programming…”

Remus suddenly had the urge to start crying, so he did. Sirius hadn’t mentioned anything about this once, nor did he act like he was hiding something from Remus. He never thought that anyone would do something like that to honor his mum, even Sirius.

A few weeks ago Remus had lunch with Effie and Monty and told them that he intended to ask Sirius to marry him soon. They were over the moon and couldn’t wait for him to do it. Effie already asked him what church they would like to be married in. He, of course, didn’t answer that question but he did buy an engagement ring.

So, he knew that he needed to ask Sirius to marry him. Remus just knew now was the right time, so he went to find the ring he had bought. Remus paced in the entryway of the cottage as he waited for Sirius’ car to pull up. As soon as he heard the car pull up, he got down on one knee and held the box in his hand. He felt like an idiot, but he knew he’d surprise Sirius.

Which he did because when Sirius opened the door, he stood there for a moment just staring at Remus. “Surprised?” Remus asked with a laugh.

“I am.” Sirius smiled. “But I’m so happy too.”

“So, I don’t have many words to describe how I feel about you but I think you have an idea so I won’t get into that. But I will tell you that you’ve been amazing these last months as I mourned the mum. Now you’ve gone and honored her. I love you. I love you so much, Sirius, and you amaze me every single day. Will you marry me?”

“Absolutely.” Sirius nodded as Remus slipped on the ring. “I got an engagement ring for you too, even though I knew you were the one to ask. But I saw it and thought you’d like it. I’ll get for you in a minute.” Sirius said before kneeling down with Remus. “First, I need to kiss you senseless for a bit.”

“That sounds good to me.” Remus grinned as Sirius pulled him in for a kiss.


End file.
